Aurora Thunderbolt
by Andromeda of Othrys
Summary: 'Please, if anyone can hear me, I beg you, keep my friends safe.' Aiolos' last words, spoken not with his mouth but with his Cosmo, reached Ganymede of Aquarius constellation. Touched by the boy's devotion, the man hatches a daring plan with Andromeda: pick up his soul before it enters Underworld and attach it to a soul of a living Aquarius-born child, so he could protect everyone.
1. The transition

**Really, I should've known better than start watching this anime... and read the manga original and spin-offs. Really, I should've known better. But I didn't know better, and this plot bunny was born. This is just a prologue, to be updated when I feel like it - or when my player gets stuck on Soldier Dream song :D I swear it's _the_ best music for writing anything mythology-based...**

 **Update 5/8/2018 - I've started expanding and correcting things. There's an added scene to the prologue, and I'll slowly do the same for the next two chapters.**

* * *

The ground was cold.

Somehow, Aiolos always thought the ground would be warm when he died, whether from the endless hours Grecian sun spent beating it or from the freshly spilled blood on the battlefield of Athena's army. This… he never envisioned this.

Holding with madman's desperation on the last vestiges of his sanity and consciousness, pain from the Excalibur spreading past his shattered bones and tearing his heart apart, he walked to the Parthenon, hoping the Fates would send him someone who would care for his goddess.

 _Athena… my Lady…_

The tiny infant, born under the sign of Virgo, was currently asleep, letting out content noises from time to time, adorably similar to his little brother Aiolia at that age. The reminder of how he left his baby brother to the mercy of Saga and Sanctuary only served to make his eyes water and send another bolt of pain into his overworked heart.

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum…_

 _Nothing._

With horror, the young Sagittarius Saint realized that it would not be the injuries from Shura's blade that would do him in: it would be his own soldier heart. His family had not had the history of heart problems as far as Aiolos knew, but he had heard _stories_ about the Scorpio Saint that had heart issues – the Saints were still mortals, despite their seemingly god-like powers. They still got sick, and boy, could they die, often in the most spectacular way possible. The records and Aiolos' current state were the prime examples of that fact.

The terrible coldness and pain shot out of his heart down his left arm, the classic sign of the abrupt heart attack. Aiolos gritted his teeth and dragged himself forward a few more steps to the giant rock, his Pandora Box miraculously staying light on his back, as if trying to help his Saint and Athena reach safety. Reaching the rock, the boy collapsed face first on it, his brown hair falling everywhere as he cradled the infant goddess under his chest, the last barrier between her and the death he could offer.

"Hey, kid!"

 _Oh thank Goddess,_ Aiolos thought, mind already descending into murky fog he usually associated with the nights he fell on his bed in Ninth Zodiac House, completely wiped out from missions and training and meetings with Pope Shion. _Athena will be safe!_

"Kid! Kid! Hey… are you from the Sanctuary?"

 _He knows!_ Aiolos rejoiced – he will not need to explain this too much. He was losing his consciousness way too fast for any detailed explanation he knew he owed to the man. "A-athena…" he managed to rasp out, gathering all of his strength for one last act for his goddess. "P-prot-tec-ct her… San-sanctu-tuary… not-t s-safe… for A-athena…"

"Athena?" the man's voice asked in disbelief, and Aiolos could understand. No one expected one of the Twelve Olympians to willing rebirth themselves as tiny babies to help out Earth, let alone find them far away from the place they're supposed to be safe at. "O-okay, I will."

 _Thank you, whoever you are._ Sagittarius Saint would've said it out loud, but the nightmarish cold was getting to him: he could no longer move, simply sinking into the darkness and coldness he had only felt once, when the Cancer candidate Deathmask opened the gates to the hell with his Sekishiki Mekai Ha( _Dark Underworld Wave_ ) to demonstrate his mastery of Cancer techniques to Pope.

 _Deathmask, Aiolia, Mu, Camus, Aphrodite, Milo, Shaka, Aldebaran… Saga…_

Even after everything, Aiolos could not stop thinking about his friends and the Sanctuary. Casting his own Cosmo towards the heavens, where he knew his birth star shone and would soon fall to commemorate his death, he cried out loud for the entire universe to hear.

 _Please, if anyone's listening, please, I beg you, keep my friends safe! I'll give you anything you desire, just keep them safe until Athena grows up!_

With that, Aiolos lost consciousness and fell into the cold embrace of Death.

* * *

 _Death is fair,_

 _Death is kind,_

 _Death is a dream_

 _With no end in sight._

The old children's rhyme, lost to the sands of time, fell from Andromeda's lips as she repelled yet _another_ attack from those pesky Hades' servants at her future Knight. She would've huffed, but if she did that, Mother and Father would scold her for improper behavior _again_.

No, she was not going to do that, even if those little pests kept annoying her to the point she honestly though about asking Perseus to go talk with his father and smite a few of them down. Shun was _her_ Knight and Athena's future servant, not a placehold host body for a selfish bastard who didn't wasn't to risk anything in his fights with Athena!

 _Please…I beg you… I'll give anything… keep them safe…_

Andromeda winced as her constellation glowed brightly in acceptance of the sacrifice moments later. This Cosmo was not of an ordinary man; it had to be a Saint, likely one of the higher-ranking ones judging by the power he managed to place into the projected voice. What was going on down on Earth?

"You heard it, too?"

Andromeda yelped and whirled around, her chains clattering as they formed the spirals of the galaxy named after her in the circle around her, before she relaxed as she recognized the face of the man that walked up to her.

"Ganymede! My gods, you scared me half to death!" Princess chided Zeus' cup-bearer, better known as Aquarius to the astronomers. She took in a few deep breaths to calm down her furiously beating heart, before facing the young, androgynous boy again. "And I might ask you, how did you hear it?"

"Chiron's brat has quite a set of lungs on him, for a mortal," Ganymede shrugged, shifting the urn he carried on his shoulder a bit so it would sit snugly between the shoulder and neck. "And he died saving Athena's current incarnation. Not bad, if I have to say so." With his other arm, he gestured outward, showing the small ball of golden light resting in his palm.

"Is that?" Andromeda gasped out, pattering over to Ganymede to take closer look at the ball. For a moment, the ball pulsed, forming an impression of a young, fourteen-year-old boy with dark hair and noticeable Grecian features.

"Sagittarius Aiolos," Ganymede confirmed with a nod. "The man branded as a traitor by the murderer, and the man willing to give up everything for his goddess, including his life and his brother's respect for him."

"Oh…" Andromeda's heart went out to the child that reminded her so much of her. Giving up so much, and only asking for the stars to watch over his friends? What a selfless, brave soul. If he hadn't been Sagittarius, he would've done well as Andromeda Saint. "But, what is he doing here? And how did you manage to keep him out of the Underworld?"

"Our resident crabby Karkinos helped me a lot, even if he doesn't know it," Ganymede smiled charmingly, carefully closing his fist around Aiolos' soul and moving him closer to his body. "You do know that every soul that dies outside Karkinos' time of patronage over Earth is sent through Praeserpe Cluster to the Underworld?"

"Oh, that's clever," Andromeda breathed, more than little impressed by the Aquarius' quick wit. The former Trojan prince was, in Andromeda's humble opinion, the second most beautiful personification of the twelve sun-bound constellations, but he was far more that simple beauty. The boy had been slotted to become a king one day, and after Zeus kidnapped him, he only kept hoarding knowledge of the gods' private deals. It was no wonder most of those born under Ganymede's patronage were so smart and creative. "You really think fast, Ganymede."

"Thank you." The faint blush dusted the boy cheeks at the praise from the older girl. "But, what should we do with him?"

Andromeda hummed, finding herself in a bit of a bind. "I'd gladly take him in as mine, but those _brats_ keep destabilizing my Shun's Cosmo connection. I've even had to put it under a seal so they'd stop siphoning it off him!"

"Yes, I've seen it," Ganymede nodded with a scowl. "Astraea was this close to coming down and showing them when what a true god's power is." Andromeda shuddered at the rare display of anger from the Aquarius and the content of his words.

Astraea was the goddess of peace and harmony, hence her patronage over Virgo-born people. If she was angry with the servants of Hades… well, Andromeda would like to say she pitied the poor fools, but this was _her_ Knight they were harassing. They deserved everything the skies had in store for them in her opinion.

"But that doesn't solve our problems. I dare no ask any of the other Zodiac signs – Chiron is still hiding from us, Amalthea's been rampaging over the Sun Temple ever since Shura sent out his first Excalibur attack on Aiolos, and the rest are just too stunned to react."

"Why don't you?" Andromeda suggested after a few long, uncomfortable moments of silence. "You have more than enough power to hold it out, and you and Chiron always had good relationship."

"I don't know," Ganymede sighed, bringing the ball of light up to his eye level to watch the fourteen-year-old sleep in a state of suspended animation. "I do have a Saint and a potential successor, so there's really no problems with changed allegiances. I do worry about who to put him with."

"Aquarius Ganymede," Andromeda started, her hands resting on her hips as she stared him down, "are you telling me you don't hold patronage over twelfth of the Earth? Over seven hundred thousand people call themselves Aquarians – you can find a good person to place our brave soldier with!"

"It's not the problem of putting him with someone, Andromeda!" Ganymede snapped, the urn on his shoulder shaking and a few drops coming dangerously close to spilling over. "I don't want to burden the child even more!"

"… What, are you talking about?" Andromeda asked slowly, dread pooling into her gut. The word _child_ mixed in with the upcoming Holy War never meant anything good.

"I have the perfect person to place the soldier with, but she's only five years old," Ganymede confessed, seating himself cross-legged, mindful not to spill any of the precious water from his urn. "Not to mention her Cosmo is simply _enormous_. I had to dampen it so she wouldn't burn herself out experimenting with it! If I place Aiolos with her… I'm afraid I'll have to place the seal like you did on Shun. Human body is not meant to contain that amount of power."

Andromeda pursed her lips, trying to think of another solution that would not involve any more deified mortals or immortals. Sadly, she could think of none. Every other intervention would have to be run past either Hades or Zeus, and neither god liked Athena's soldiers. Hades had a long-standing grudge against them due to the fact they fought against them, and Zeus thought them impudent brats with too much power for flimsy mortals. Even with Aiolos' pure intentions and heroic death, the two conspirators ran a risk of being refused and Aiolos' soul being stuck in the Underworld for the eternity.

No, they'll have to take care of this themselves.

"I'll help you with the seal, and keep an ear out for the girl," Andromeda offered, playing with one of her chains – the one she had transformed into a defensive weapon. "I'm not letting a sacrifice like that go to waste."

"I… thank you, Andromeda," Ganymede whispered, bowing to the princess despite the fact he was far higher in the pecking order. "I owe you."

"You owe me _nada_ , Ganymede," Andromeda shook her head, flipping her hair back and turning on her heel. "You owe Aiolos and that girl. By the way, what's her name?"

"Yelena," Ganymede smiled goofily as he processed Andromeda's acceptance of the mad scheme he cooked upon the spot when he spotted Aiolos' death. "Born as the Aquarius dies, closest friend of Hyoga, Aquarius successor."

Andromeda answered with silence and a raised thumb, before returning to her constellation to watch over Shun.

* * *

Natasha was rudely woken from her sleep by the incessant banging on her front door and her little Alexei's cries.

"Who?" she murmured, pattering blearily to the door, snagging a pocket torchlight from the desk and taking Alexei into her arms, who quietened the moment she hoisted him up. "Shh, _zvyezdochka,_ _mama_ is here."

" _Ma-ma_ ," Alexei babbled, waving his hands to her face, and Natasha smiled indulgently at him. " _Ma-ma!_ "

The banging came again, and Alexei fell silent, piecing blue eyes Natasha hoped he would never grew out of focused unnervingly on the front door.

" _Da?_ " Natasha called, approaching the door and opening it a smidge. "Who's there?"

" _E!E!_ " Alexei cried, pointing at the threshold, and Natasha had to bite her tongue lest she swore in front of the children.

Kneeling in the ankle-deep snow was a tiny, blonde girl wrapped in a thick blanket. The amount of snow in her hair and wetness of the blanket spoke of the long time she spent outside, and Natasha's heart nearly broke as the girl shivered terribly, clutching the blanket.

"Hello, little one" she said, squatting down to the girl's eye level. "What are you doing here?"

" _Mama i papa mertvy,_ " the girl whispered. "Scary men came."

"Oh dear Lord," Natasha covered her mouth in horror. Her parents were dead, killed by 'scary men' – likely criminals, or maybe _bratva_. "Come in, sweetie."

The girl managed to stand up and stumble inside, but Natasha could see her legs threatening to give under her.

"Go to the couch," Natasha instructed her, turning to the bassinet she kept in the living to lay Alexei in. She'll need both of her hands to deal with the newcomer. "Tell me, have you drunk vodka before?"

"M-hm," girl nodded, shivering slowly subsiding. " _Mama_ mixes it with my tea when I spend too much time outside."

"Ah, I see!" Natasha laughed, familiar with the ages-old remedy for the kids who liked snow too much. "Then I'll fix you up a cup, okay? And take one of the blankets from the couch," she added sternly. "That wet rag will only get you sick."

The girl obediently shrugged off her blanket, folded it with shaky hands, and turned herself into a living burrito with Natasha's blanket. Smiling softly, the woman removed the kettle from the stove, pouring the hot water over the chamomile teabag and adding a few drops of vodka to it. Alexei had stayed quiet – a bit unusual for him, considering he tended to be when woken from his naps – but Natasha was not about to complain.

"Here you go," she gave the mug to the girl. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Yelena," the girl murmured, freeing her arms to grab the mug, but did not drink from it immediately. "Yelena Plisetskaya."

That explained some things, Natasha thought wryly as she sat close to Alexei. The Plisetsky offshoot she knew of had nothing to do with shady business, but rumors surrounding Yuriy, Yelena's father, spoke of his father's cousins who were neck-deep in _bratva_ 's debt.

That did leave a question, though: why was Yelena alive? _Bratva_ did not care much for the children of those they murdered – in fact, they often killed them to get rid of evidence and possible retribution.

"Okay, Yelena," Natasha said calmly. "How did you get out?"

The blonde girl blinked for a second.

"Out?"

"Away from the scary men."

"Oh." The girl took a gulp of the tea, not caring about the hotness as she closed her eyes. "My Master told me not to come back home early."

"Master?"

Natasha did not know what to think of the word. She knew Yelena was very young, and as such had no concept of slavery or any other nasty thing connected to that word, but she would find out why she used that word.

"He teaches me a lot," Yelena said quietly. "He told me not to come home, but I didn't listen," a little sob made past her lips, and Natasha was by her side in an instant.

The girl had just witnessed a terrible thing, and Natasha would be damned if she let her go through it alone. No one deserved that.

She would take care of Yelena. Alexei would love to have big sister.


	2. Of teachers and Gold Saints

**_Wow. The response to this, while not as numerous as in some other fandoms I've dabbled in, is so supportive and kind to me, I had to go on!_**

 ** _JupiterGoddess: Thanks for the first review!_**

 ** _Virgin of Aquarius: Camus goodness, coming right up! xD  
_**

 ** _Thrudgelmir2333: I will give it my best!_**

* * *

 _Five years later_

"Hyoga! Hyoooo-gaaa! If you don't come out this instant, I swear to Goddess I _will_ murder you, no matter what Master says!"

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Hyoga winced in his hiding place as his best friend Yelena delivered her threat, and huddled into himself even more, suppressing his Cosmo like she had taught him just before he set off from Siberia to Japan. He was _not_ going to play with Kido-brat, oh no! Let that moron Jabu and other panderers surround her and lavish her with attention, Hyoga will _not_ be taking part in that!

"Hyo-ga!" And suddenly, a painful blow connected with the top of his head. Hyoga yelped and jumped up, forgetting he was hiding in small space and colliding with the wooden shelf. A starburst of pain shot through six-year-old boy's shoulders, sending him on his knees as he desperately mashed his teeth together to avoid crying out in pain.

"Hyoga! What are you doing here?" Yelena stood above him, arms crossed and frosty silver-blue aura enveloping her torso in a facsimile of a long dress. Add on a tiara or a crown and give her a scepter, and you would be convinced you stood in front of the Ice Princess, if not for her glacier-blue eyes. In them, Hyoga saw the blue fire, and shuddered as he slowly stood up, careful not to expose himself to a surprise attack from his _nee-san_.

"Resting," the part-Russian drawled out the word, clinging to his pride and determination to get him out of this pinch. He knew he stood no chance in hell in fooling his _nee-san_ – that girl could smell rot from across the country – but he could show her his determination in his chosen path. "Like we were ordered to."

"I was not aware Saori-san's spare closet was the place Tatsumi delegated for your and your friends' rest, Hyoga- _otouto_." Yelena was not impressed, judging by the subtle shift in her stance. Her right leg slid out sideways, bending at the same time, forming a relaxed, yet ready stance. Hyoga gulped and slowly took a step to the side. There was no point in running away; his only hope right now was to dodge and run when her first hit misses.

If she misses.

Damn her Master and lessons in archery she took on his urging!

"You know how much I hate all those brats hanging around my bed and yammering all day long," Hyoga shrugged, falling back on his right leg but not crouching just yet. He had to play it easy and cool – to pardon the pun. "I needed some time to myself."

"And that time simply happened to coincide with Saori- _san_ 's visit to the playground?" Yelena arched an eyebrow, but she was smiling gently as she did so, so Hyoga could allow himself to relax a bit –

 _Wham!_

"Umph!" Hyoga grunted as the perfectly placed punch in the gut forced the boy on his back, his backside hitting the ground with a muted _thump._

"How many times have I told you never to let your guard down?" Yelena chided but this time her voice was warm and comforting, like a teacher's. "You can't relax just because I decided to show you I agree with you."

" _Hai, hai_." Hyoga rubbed the small of his back, which took the brunt of his fall. "You could've been a bit softer with your punch, Yelena- _nee-san_."

"That would've defeated the point of the punch, _baka_ ," Yelena shook her head and turned on her heel. "Now come on: you'll want to see and hear what I have in store for you boys today."

Hyoga scrambled to his feet, suddenly excited to go to the playground. Yelena's lessons were the best – she always talked about interesting things, like Sanctuary, Saints and myths of the constellations! Not only that, she always drew them in, never letting anyone fall asleep from boredom – unlike that moron Tatsumi!

"What are you telling us about today, _nee-san_?"

Yelena smiled, but her smile spoke not of joy, but of bitterness. "Oh, something every boy likes to hear about." She stopped to look at her friend over her shoulder, her eyes as expressionless as void. " _War._ "

She continued walking gracefully after she said that, while Hyoga took a few moments to unfreeze and run after her, keeping his mouth shut.

* * *

"Yelena- _sama_ is here!" Someone shouted in the playground – probably Nachi, that idiot had no tact and too much lung, Hyoga thought in amusement – and the boys stampeded towards her, surrounding her in a loose circle, but not coming too close. They learned their lesson the first time Hyoga punched Sho into the mouth to give his _nee-san_ some air to breathe.

"Yelena- _sama_!"

"Yelena- _san_!"

"Yelena- _nee_!"

"What are you telling us today?"

"Tell us about constellations!"

"No, tell about Sanctuary!"

"No, Saints!"

"No, tell us -"

" _Yamero!_ " Yelena ordered, and the unruly kids instantly quieted down. "Where do you think you kids were born in, in a barn? Let me greet our kind host first!" Hyoga made a face at her declaration, but at this Yelena could not be swayed. You may disagree with the authority all you wanted, but you still had to be polite to them when the situation called for it.

"Yelena- _onee-chan_ ," Saori Kido giggled as she walked up to the elder girls, boys parting in her way like Red Sea in front of Moses. "It's good to see you again!"

"No need for that, Saori- _san_ ," Yelena hugged the purple-haired girl briefly before releasing her. "You see me every day."

"But you don't teach me!" Saori whined, pouting at Yelena. "I want Yelena- _onee-chan_ to be my teacher, too!"

" _Ne, ne,_ Saori- _san_ , I'm not formally a teacher, you know that," Yelena sighed and rolled her eyes as the old argument between the two girls came up. "I'd love nothing more than to teach you, but your Grandfather wants your education to be top-notch."

"But you're the bestest teacher ever!" Seiya protested, fighting his way to the front to talk with his favorite teacher. "And you always teach us more about Saints!"

"And that's exactly why Kido- _sama_ does not want me teaching you, Saori- _san_ ," Yelena smiled the smile that stopped just short of her eyes. "But enough about that. I have a special treat for you today, boys! Sit around me! Ikki, stop strangling Saiyo; Shun, love, come up here and please dry your eyes; Saori- _san_ , otouto, sit here."

In a matter of seconds, every single boy sat in half-circle around the chair conveniently placed next to the entrance, Shun was perched on Yelena's lap, while Saori and Hyoga sat to her left and right on the ground.

"Everyone sitting tight?" She got a lot of nods and a 'yes' scattered here and there. "Good. Now, today we'll be talking about something every one of you here wants to be." Yelena Leaned forward. "Saints. However, we will not be talking about abstract concept: we'll be talking about _people_."

"Real Saints?" Shiryu asked, eyes blown wide. "Real, living Saints?"

"Well, not all of them are living, Shiryu," Yelena chuckled. "Saints die too, you know. But yes, we'll be talking about them, and how their rank can tell you about their power and position. Now, a pop-quiz: how many Saints are out there?"

"88!" boys chorused.

"How do we divide them?"

"Bronze, Silver and Gold!"

"Good!" Yelena clapped, and boys exchanged proud grins at her praise. "Now, what is the difference between a Bronze and Silver Saint? Yuzuru?"

"Silver Saints are faster, and have more responsibilities for the trainees," the black-haired boy parroted one of the earliest lessons Yelena had given them. "They also have more power."

"That's so near truth, it's not even funny," Yelena giggled. "As a rule of thumb, Silver Saints are definitely nastier to deal with than Bronze Saints… barring a few _odd ones_."

"Odd ones?"

Now Yelena had everyone's undivided attention. She had stressed again and again that the shift in the color of the Cloth meant the shift in power – lowest being Bronze, and the highest being Gold. What made those exceptions so notable?

"M-hm. Pegasus Saints are _nasty_ to deal with, if the records are to be believed – they punch a lot, and they punch _fast_." Saori's eyes widened at the mention of the Cloth, but no one noticed it. "Not to mention they usually tend to be sarcastic loudmouths."

"So Seiya, basically," Jabu quipped, making everyone around him laugh and Seiya blush furiously as he tried to defend himself from the accusation. Yelena coughed loudly to get their attention before continuing.

"Andromeda Saints are the other example: they look cute and sweet with that pink Cloth of theirs, but you should stay damn well away from the chains they have – they're basically alive."

"Eeh?" Shun looked up at his teacher, wriggling on her lap a little to catch her attention. "Alive?"

"Oh yes. They can sense enemy's approach, and attack without their commander's control. I won't even go into all the rumors surrounding Phoenix Cloth and its' supposed ability to keep their Saint from death…"

"Supposed?"

"There has never been a Phoenix Saint before." Yelena shrugged. "Or so my Master tells me, and he's the best source of information on the last… oh, thousand years of Sanctuary."

"Wha? Your Master's that old?!" One of the kids shouted, echoed by a few of his friends.

"No, no! He just spent a lot of time in the archives and libraries as part of his duties, so he tells me all the best stories floating around… including _that_ incident."

"What incident?" Saori finally asked, her eyes a bit unfocused. Yelena nodded grimly.

"Now that, that is what I came here to tell you about.

 _The Lost Canvas Incident… or should I say, Lost Canvas War."_

* * *

Camus flinched as the girl uttered the words he hoped he would never hear again after his former master Yura scared him to death with the story when he was around the same age as the kids listening to her. Leaning even harder on one of the support pillars right outside the playground, the Aquarius Saint settled to listen to her retelling of that story.

He didn't plan on stopping here: he had just finished delicate negotiations for the Sanctuary in Tokyo, and coming to the mansion of some rich old man wasn't even in his mind. However, on his way to his hotel, he sensed several nascent Cosmos burning inside the building. As a saint – and one of the twelve guardians to the boot – he had to find all those who had the potential to become a Saint and get them to the proper teachers. No good ever came out of those who could access Cosmo yet had no control over it.

The scene he found when he arrived shocked him, though: a tiny seven-year-old girl sitting in the middle of the loose semi-circle of boys, teaching them about Saints. Who was she? How did she know all of that? And, most importantly, who was her Master?

Well, he'll know pretty soon. Everyone heard a different account of the last Holy War – what would be said and what would be left out depended on the storyteller, and the only ones who knew everything were the Pope and Roushi, the sole survivors of that war.

 _It all started with three orphan children – Sasha, Tenma and Alone. I-ya, I'm telling it wrong. It all started a long time ago, when Hades got a little too power-hungry and tried smother Earth with eternal darkness. His niece Athena and her faithful soldiers, of course, stood in the mad god's path – they had sworn themselves to be humanity's protectors against such forces, ne? Anyway, that was the first Holy War – war between two gods, with semi-immortals and humans fighting to extinction over this beautiful planet._

 _And believe me, when I say it had been extinction, that's what I meant. After the First War ended, Hades' body was badly damaged, every servant of his was destroyed, and out of many of Athena's soldiers, only two remained alive. Zeus, having seen it, grew furious and recalled his daughter to Olympus, leaving the two Saints to repair things as best as they could. However, Hades did not forget his ambition, and Athena knew it. Children of Kronos are all like that, you know? They're like dogs with a bone – they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Zeus knew it too, so he allowed his daughter to be reborn every 200-something years to defeat Hades again – cycle of life and death at its finest, you see. Too much peace, and Earth would stagnate, too much chaos, and Earth would again stagnate._

 _Now we skip back to our three orphans from the beginning – Sasha, Tenma, and Alone. Remember them? Yes? Good. They're the reason the Lost Canvas War is written down as one of the most brutal Holy Wars in history._

So far, the things were all bland – things everyone knew, the context of the Holy Wars. The girl had not uttered a single thing that would help Camus pinpoint who had told her that story.

He had time, though. The story was still young, and it was the latter parts that people disagreed about.

 _You see, they were… it would be a sin to say they were just friends, or just siblings. They were both and neither: they were simply 'imouto Sasha', 'Tenma-ani' and 'Alone-nii', three children who survived from day to day, always together. They protected and loved each other to death…_

 _Then, one day, a strange, well dressed, yet likable man appeared in their town, carrying a gold box on his back._

"Gold Saint!" one of the children exclaimed, and the murmur, almost nonexistent until that point, picked up as boys started discussing the newest development, until the girl telling the story coughed rather loudly.

"Yes, it was a Gold Saint – Sagittarius Sisyphus, to be precise. Tell me, which House belongs to Sagittarius?"

"Ninth!" brown-haired boy with murky, chai-red eyes exclaimed. "His protector is centaur Chiron!"

"Well done, Seiya, and thank you for spoiling my next question," the girl deadpanned, making poor Seiya blush. Camus bowed his head to hide his smile over the smooth execution of the reprimand, as soft as it was. She definitely had a gift for teaching. "Shall we go on?"

 _The strange man had been wandering around the market, talking some of the grown up first, before going deeper into the maze of alleyways… where he found himself face to face with our three orphans._

 _Can you think, what had he done first? No?_

 _He knelt in front of Sasha, and addressed her as 'my Lady'._

"What? That girl – she was Athena?" Blonde boy sitting next to the girl exclaimed, and Camus had to smile at the disbelief. Everyone had a hard time thinking about their goddess being a simple mortal at first – you simply get used to the fact as the years of servitude pass by.

"Oh yes, she was."

 _Of course, the trio did not believe him. But after some time – Master often jokes it must've took at least an hour when you factor in Tenma's stubbornness – he managed to get Sasha away from her brothers and to the Sanctuary. And then… things went south._

 _I won't bore with all the details, you're a bit too young for all the things than happened, but suffice to say that after five years, Alone became host to god Hades, sent Tenma to the Underworld and tried to kill Sasha. Athena awoke inside Sasha, and melded with her host, fighting Alone all the way. And Tenma, rebellious, feisty Tenma… he became Pegasus Saint, and found himself between Alone and Sasha, trying to figure out his loyalties._

"That's horrible," green-haired boy in girl's lap murmured, but in total silence that followed girl's last sentence, it could be clearly heard. "How could Alone and Sasha do such a thing to Tenma?"

"You have a big heart, Shun- _kun_ ," the narrator sighed. "Alone and Sasha were partly fused with gods, remember? Gods… well, they think of us as less than ants. Insignificant. Unimportant. Dolls they can play with whenever they like, then break us and toss us aside when they get bored of us."

Camus leaned forward at this part. Whoever told her the story was no fan of gods, that was for sure. That narrowed down the list of people who could be her Master quite a bit.

"And Athena?" Dark-haired boy stood up, glaring daggers at the girl. "What are we to her?"

"Ikki…" the girl sighed again and bowed her head, before lifting it up, and Camus was shocked to see her smile. "That was the point Athena was trying to make. She went into the cycle of rebirth, to be as humane as possible when she was finally ready to lead her Saints. To her… I believe we are all dear friends she would never play with like dolls. That was what saved her Saints so many times – she is quite willing to give up her own life to protect them.

Am I right, _Goldo Sainto, Aquarius no Camus?_ "

* * *

Yelena smiled as she turned her head around to face her Zodiac sibling, who was currently quite busy trying not to make a fish impression. Her boys gaped, lacking the older man's restraint, as did Saori, prompting a chuckle from both her and her Master.

 _Marvelously done_ , Master praised her, and Yelena couldn't help but preen a little. _Perfectly in place and sneakily executed, all with flat face. You can't make a better Aquarius impression that that, dear._

"Watch it, Master, you'll make my ego swell a bit too much," Yelena quipped back, enjoying her Master's relaxed attitude in presence of his former comrade. "I may even float off to the stars."

 _Nah, that's why I'm here – shooting egos down is my specialty_ , Master grinned toothily at her, pointedly twirling a phantom copy of Sagittarius' arrow between his fingers.

"Har, har, har, Master," Yelena rolled her eyes at the childish riposte. "That was _so_ bad, your otouto would be proud of it."

 _Hey, I have better sense of humor than Aiolia!_ Master complained with a pout. _No, don't laugh at me, Yelena! I do!_

"I'll believe it when I see it, Master," Yelena snickered. "And so far, you've been doing a _wonderful_ impression of your brother's lame jokes."

"Excuse me, but who are you talking to?" Ah, her Zodiac brother managed to gather some of his wits to ask the important questions. Well, Yelena will be more than glad to shatter that composure again – nothing was more satisfying than breaking the icy façade she knew every Aquarius possessed to some degree, and Camus seemed to be a good challenge.

On the other hand, maybe not such a good challenge. She had the winning combination no matter what. She'll have to test things later, though.

"My Master." _Obviously_ , was the silent addendum here.

"And what is his name?" Camus demanded, stepping into the playground and revealing the gorgeous, sleek yet rounded lines of the Aquarius cloth. _It will fit Hyoga perfectly once he grows up,_ she thought as she scanned the general shape of the Cloth with a small, internal giggle.

What was going right now? Oh yes, Master's name.

"Well, he insists I call him Master or Teacher, but he let it slip his name is Aiolos."

 _Maybe I've overdone it_ , Yelena thought with a gleeful cackle as the Frenchman collapsed on his knees, eyes blown wide and jaw so agape, she thought it would dislodge and fall to the ground.


	3. An offer to refuse

**Thrudglemir233: I've taken your suggestions into account, but I think you misunderstood me a little. Aiolos is Yelena's teacher for now, not Camus - he'll come in later. That's why she knows all of that stuff - after all, Aiolos was supposed to be the next Pope, and I think he would've known most of the things that went on in the Sanctuary before his death. She still has no idea why Aiolos died, or what happened afterwards.  
**

* * *

 ** _In the previous chapter:_**

 _"Well, he insists I call him Master or Teacher, but he let it slip his name is Aiolos."_

 _Maybe I've overdone it,_ _Yelena thought with a gleeful cackle as the Frenchman collapsed on his knees, eyes blown wide and jaw so agape, she thought it would dislodge and fall to the ground._

* * *

 _I've definitely overdone it._

Yelena had to stop herself from sighing as Aquarius Camus stood up again to pace across the room Saori had kindly given them after she got over her shock. The room was designated as the tea-room, with the enormous French windows that allowed Yelena to watch over the gaggle of children running around the playground as she sat in the comfy armchair and endured Gold Saint's interrogation.

 _Don't tell me you regret it, love,_ Master Aiolos murmured through their mind connection as he perched himself on the windowsill, eyes following Aquarius Saint's every movement and fiddling with the golden arrow he conjured for his amusement earlier.

Yelena huffed and rolled her eyes in response, checking the situation outside from the corner of her eye. Most of the boys were playing football, chasing after ball and fooling around. Ikki and Yuzuru were wrestling, but the lack of the cheering crowds around them told her it was only a playful joust, so she didn't need to open the window and shout at them. Hyoga and Shun were experimenting with their Cosmo, moving the sand in the sandbox to form shapes on the ground.

They were being quite successful, in fact, managing to write their names in Cyrillic and Kanji respectively, and Yelena made a mental note to keep a close eye on their experiments. Her ears were still ringing from the scolding her Master gave when he found out she was playing with her Cosmo with no supervision, even if almost two years passed since the incident.

 _You can harm yourself, or worse, burn yourself out! There's no need to rush, you idiot girl!_ were Sagittarius' exact words.

"So, Miss Yelena, let me sum this up: you claim you have a spirit of a former Saint for a teacher, and his name is Aiolos?"

Oh, that line of questioning again. Camus had asked her at least six different variations of that same question in the past two hours. Yelena sighed, and Aiolos snickered at her exasperation.

 _Very funny, Master._ "Yes, Saint Aquarius," Yelena said dutifully, raising the teacup to her eye level so she would watch the older man over the edge of the delicate porcelain. "That's how he introduced himself to me."

"And how do you know he is not lying to you?"

Yet another repetitive question. Honestly, couldn't the man find a new batch? They were becoming boring, and frankly speaking, insulting to her intelligence. She was nearly eight, thank you very much, not delusional or a simpleton!

"Dead can't lie for long," Yelena shrugged, and took a tiny sip of the green tea before continuing. "Why would they want to, anyway?"

"To trick you?" Camus posed the scenario, turning around to face her and folding his arms behind his back in an almost military stance. "To make you feel sorry for them, so you would accept them without questioning?"

"You're funny!" Yelena giggle-snorted, putting the teacup and its plate away to avoid spilling the drink all over herself. "That's a concern for most restless ones, but not for Master!"

 _Thank you,_ Master sent her with effusive gratitude before standing up and turning to look through the windows of the mansion. _You may want to come over here – I think Seiya is about to get himself into a scuffle._

"Again?!" Yelena groaned, jumping up from the chair and rushing to the windows to take a better look, ignoring Camus' eyes burning holes into her skull.

To her dismay, Seiya did manage to get himself into what looked like a beginning of a scuffle: he and Ikki were standing in front of Shun and Hyoga, facing sneering Taiyo, Daichi and Eito. Shiryu looked ready to jump into the fray at any second as well, and Saori had her hands over her mouth, eyes blown wide.

 _That stupid boy!_ She reached up to the knob that would open the windows and allow her exit to the balcony, but just missed it, even with standing on her tiptoes.

Suddenly, the window cracked open, and Yelena did not need to turn to confirm what she already knew: Aquarius Camus used his Cosmo to open them for her.

"I could've done that myself," she snapped at him, stepping up to push the windows open and cross the threshold.

"Oh really?" The Saint's voice was mired in amusement, and Yelena had to fight the urge to turn around and prove him that yes, she was more than capable of opening the windows on her own! However, she had more important things to do right now – namely stopping the idiots from destroying the playground.

"OI!" she shouted into her cupped palms, effectively freezing everyone on the ground in mid motion. "SEIYA, IKKI, TAIYO, EITO, TIME-OUT! SHIRYU, HYOGA, DAICHI, GET TO THE TEA ROOM! MISS SAORI, SHOW THEM THE WAY!"

The moment she stopped talking, the boys started moving: some of them slowly, like Ikki and Eito, who were still glaring daggers at each other; some of them all but disappeared from the spot, namely Shun and Hyoga, and most were somewhere in between, but Yelena did not care. She knew Tatsumi allowed the boys to fight between themselves, but she was not going to tolerate things like that.

"You stopped the fight. I thought the boys were to be Saints?" Camus wondered, climbing up to the balcony and leaning on the railing next to the girl, eyes focused on a spot far above her.

"And I thought the Saints did not fight each other for no reason," Yelena quipped back, crossing her arms and raising up her nose like she just smelled something awful nearby. Camus chuckled and dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Indeed. Shall we continue this after you take care of the rascals?"

"Yes." Yelena frowned, trying to think up the right manner to address this mess with. Stern? Kind? A mix? Detective? Judge?

 _Don't overthink it,_ Master said to her, laying an arm on her shoulder, but Yelena did not even twitch from the surprise – she had far too much time to get used to the fact her Master could simply fade into the background then pop back out at the strangest of times. _Just do what you would usually do._

Yelena snorted at the advice and entered the room, leaving the Aquarius Saint to loiter on the balcony. _Do what I would usually do? Wow, what a helpful advice, Master._

 _I live to serve!_

"You are dead _,_ " Yelena deadpanned as she settled back into her chair. "You can't _live_ to serve."

 _That's just a phra – wait. Stop doing that!_ Aiolos whined, settling on the glass table to watch the proceedings. _Stop teasing me!_

Yelena ignored the childish antics of her Master, focusing on finding out just what started that standoff and then giving the guilty parties the proper 'award' for their behavior.

* * *

Camus settled to watch the young girl dole out her version of justice, leaning back on the iron, heavily ornamented railing of the balcony. The windows were left open, so he could freely listen in – and Camus suspected it had been done by Yelena's design. She wanted to show him how things really functioned around the Kido mansion, just like she allowed him to listen in on her story of the last Holy War.

How much did she know about the Saints? Was it true that the traitor Aiolos taught her everything she knew? Camus did not want to believe it, but the facts could not be denied. She behaved like someone at least a few years older than her physical age, like most of the students under one of the Gold Saints, and she knew things only someone close to the Pope Shion would have.

Aiolos and Saga, as the designated successors, were the only possibilities, really: he did not teach her a thing, and he sincerely doubted Shaka would've given her a time of his day. Saga was away on the mission, so it only left Aiolos, as impossible as it sounded. After all, even Yelena admitted her Master was dead.

"Big sis Yelena?" The purple-haired girl, Saori, peeked into the room, her little hands gripping the wood of the doors so much the skin around her knuckles became an unhealthy shade of white. "Um… the boys are here."

"Okay, let them in," Yelena told her in a soft, reassuring voice that clashed with the overall distant, proud personality Camus had witnessed. Was she pretending for the other girl's sake, or had she been acting for the last two hours of front of him?

The girl was more confusing and complicated that Shaka and Aiolia put together!

The three boys she called for entered the room and closed the doors, not coming any further in to the room – not coming any closer to Yelena's armchair, Camus noted as he spotted their apprehensive looks at the older girl.

"That, boys, was what I warned you not to do in my absence! How could you?" The trio winced, heads down in front of her. "Can you explain what in the universe happened? Shiryu, you first."

"Daichi wanted to join Hyoga and Shun in the sandbox," the boy in the middle spoke, head bowed but spine straight. Camus lifted his eyebrow at the attitude, but let it slide: he wanted to see how Yelena would handle this. "But Hyoga refused him, 'cos they were practicing with the Cosmo."

"Yes, I've seen that," Yelena spoke with a smooth, glacier-like voice Camus instantly recognized as disapproval. He echoed her sentiment: every experiment with the Cosmo needed to be carefully monitored in the beginning. It seemed Aiolos, despite being a traitor to the Sanctuary, still held the wellbeing of others close to his heart and did not allow such things. "I will speak to Hyoga and Shun about that later. What happened next?"

"Taiyo overheard them, called Shun and Hyoga sissies for not using the Cosmo to fight, and challenged them to fight," Shiryu bit his lip. "Then Seiya came in, telling him that we were forbidden from fighting outside sparring. I don't know how, but Ikki heard it as well and appeared with Eito, threatening Taiyo. They started insulting each other, and Seiya and Taiyo prepared to start a fight, and then you stopped us."

"I see." Camus could practically hear girl gnashing her teeth together before collecting herself to speak in such a cool voice. "Thank you, Shiryu. Hyoga, was Shiryu telling the truth? Daichi?"

"Yes," the remaining two boys nodded, eyes not leaving the ground and backs all but glued to the doors.

"I see." Camus just waited for the verdict, although this seemed to be quite a clear case. "Hyoga, remain here. Shiryu, get me Shun, Ikki and Seiya. Daichi, grab Eito and Taiyo. Oh, and tell Saori she can come in – there are some tea biscuits she loves, and Saint Aquarius and I have not eaten them all."

She would give the sentencing in front of them all? Camus placed his palm under his chin, carefully watching as the two dark-haired boys depart, leaving only the blonde one behind. It was an interesting tactic, that was for sure.

"Hyoga… why didn't you react?"

The blonde – Hyoga – lifted his gaze, blue eyes looking ready to pop out of their sockets.

"B-but!" he sputtered, searching for the words. "You-you told me _never_ to lower myself -"

"That's not what I asked, Hyoga," Yelena cut him off, sounding rather impatient. "I asked _why_ you didn't react when Taiyo provoked you and Shun."

"Um, the reason?" Hyoga waited for the girl's signal, which Camus could not see due to the fact he could only the see the back of the armchair. The boy obviously got it, because he took a deep breath and started explaining. "Shun and I are the only ones who can use Cosmo, and it wouldn't be fair to accept the challenge when I would clearly win."

Yelena tsked. "That's noble of you, but fair-play won't help you defeat your enemy. Isn't that right, Saint Aquarius?" The girl asked, inviting him into the room with a flick of her fingers hanging over the armchair's arm rest.

"Absolutely," Camus confirmed, stepping inside and remaining next to the windows, eyes not moving from Hyoga's suddenly tense form. Was she testing him? The shift in her personality could not be natural – she was acting, Camus was sure of it now – but what was the endgame? What did she want to gain with it?

"But Taiyo isn't my enemy!" Hyoga insisted, taking a step from the doors in his zeal. "He's just an idiot who doesn't know when to shut up!"

Yelena was silent for a second, before standing up from her armchair, and Camus spotted an enormous, fond smile appear on her lips. She walked up to Hyoga, who now looked completely confused by the sudden mood shifts.

"I'm glad to hear it," she told Hyoga, placing her palms on the boy's shoulders. "Just because you believe differently, doesn't mean you're enemies. I'm glad you think so."

Camus watched as the realization dawned on the boy's face, which was soon overwritten by a ferocious scowl Camus had to admit was truly impressive for a six-year-old boy.

"You were testing me?" Hyoga yelped, but before Yelena could explain, the boys involved in the scuffle appeared at the doors, followed by Saori and the butler Camus had casually avoided when he entered the house.

"Thank you. No worries Tatsumi," Yelena said turning to the only other adult in the room, "I'm dealing with this."

The bald man did not look happy at all, clutching a – was that a bamboo stick? Camus tilted his head, focusing on the strange weapon, trying to gauge its usefulness in the combat situation.

"You're being too soft on the brats, Yelena," Tatsumi grumbled, waving around the bamboo stick. "Let 'em fight it out – we have the infirmary for it."

"They're Saint candidates, not boxing trainees," Yelena spat, crossing her arms. "Respecting your comrades is rule number one. Besides, you seriously want to kill them before their training does it for you?"

Camus winced at the blunt way she put the extremely harsh training the Saint candidates go through, but he had to agree. If those boys come to the training grounds with aggressive tendencies, they'll likely get killed very soon. The other boys looked a bit uncomfortable, tossing each other vary looks and shifting from one foot to the other, but did not comment.

Tatsumi reddened at the rebuke and backed down, slithering out of the room and closing the doors behind himself.

"Now boys… shall we get to it?"

* * *

Aiolos floated to the windows, passing through objects and people on his way, to settle right next to the draping, thick, dark blue curtain that was currently drawn and bound away to reveal the glass and the playground beyond it. Camus stood only two meters away from him, and yet the other Gold Saint could not see him, hear him or touch him. The former Sagittarius Saint had not expected anything else: however, it still hurt, not to be acknowledged by his once-comrade, even if the only thing he would've gotten from the stoic French were insults and accusations.

Saga did his job far too well, apparently: everyone believed him to be the traitor. Oh, the Aquarius Saint had not so much as hinted at Aiolos' past and death when questioning his student and host Yelena, but he could tell. Shura he knew believed the false Pope, and the younger candidates would probably be quickly swayed under Shura's influence.

That meant that Aiolia…

 _No! This was for both Aiolia and Athena! Don't think about it!_

There was no use in lamenting over what-ifs and could-have-beens. Yes, he could've stopped for a second to explain everything properly to Aiolia, but his baby brother was a Lion through and through: he would've defended his older brother and gotten himself killed along the way. No, this was better.

Yelena assigned the boys some extra chores as punishment for 'starting a useless fight that could've ended badly', and shooed them all out, giving Saori biscuits before gently escorting her out as well and closing the door behind them.

"How hard is it, being a big sister for them all?"

Oh, no. Aiolos winced and prayed Yelena's fury would run its course quickly and leave Camus more or less alive at the end of it. She was… touchy did not cover properly how she felt when people questioned her role with the Kido orphans.

"Hard?" Yelena repeated softly, slowly turning on her heel to confront the Gold Saint. "Is it hard, being the left hand of the most powerful man in the Sanctuary?"

 _And there she goes, right for the jugular._ Aiolos sighed and shook his head at the flabbergasted expression on Camus' face. He had told her Camus and Shaka were the most likely of the Guardians to get the spot of the two main helpers – they had both the seniority and the attitude for helping the Pope lead the Sanctuary and the Saints. He had not known for sure, however, but Yelena insisted he was right – she claimed it was a feeling, and Aiolos learned to trust gut feelings a long time ago.

"I – how do you know that?"

"An educated guess," Yelena shrugged with an unsettling smile on her face. "Master Aiolos did say you and Virgo Shaka were the most senior Saints after himself and Saga. It wasn't that hard to connect the dots."

And this was what Aiolos hated the most about his disciple – her ruthlessness. She had been a sweet, kind child when he first met her, but the training he had given her destroyed most of that kindness beyond repair. She had become a freezing glacier, melting only in the presence of the orphans and their Lady Athena.

Thankfully, her rage and ruthlessness never lasted long – she couldn't endure hurting others for no reason and liked finishing things quickly.

"But to answer your question – no, it's not hard. They're my brothers, and I would do anything for them," Yelena said, the kind words offset by the blue flame burning behind her eyes. "Unlike some people, who would let their brothers _die_."

 _And she slammed it home._

Aiolos grunted and glided to his student, gripping her on the shoulder. She did not move, eyes fixed on the hunched form of Aquarius Saint, but she did tense up in answer to his movement.

 _You've gone too far,_ Aiolos murmured, removing his hand and sitting on the arm rest. _He is not at fault._

Yelena crossed her arms. "Don't protect him Master, even if he isn't the one who killed you. He didn't try to help you. What a pathetic excuse for an Aquarius-"

"What do you know about being Aquarius?"

And now Camus' rage was ignited. Aiolos facepalmed as the two identical temperaments clashed in Saori's tea room. There was no going back: only hoping the mansion would remain ice-free at the end of this clash.

"I am an Aquarius, so is Hyoga," Yelena replied calmly, her anger already simmering down, but that did not fool Aiolos. His girl was like a volcano: she could erupt at any moment, given that you poked the right place. "I know how we like to know things, that we don't accept them at face value. I know we hate being controlled, or being told what to do. Anything else to add, _Saint Aquarius?_ "

"We are cold, and distant," Camus answered, his eyes burning like Yelena's had a few moments ago. "We like to pretend nothing touches us, yet when provoked, we explode like supernovas. Not to mention, we are prideful. Sounds familiar, _Miss Yelena?_ "

"Oh yes, it does," Yelena grinned nastily. "Figures we would know all the best ways to hurt each other, right?"

"Indeed," Camus replied in a low voice, walking up to the girl until he towered over her slight form. "Indeed. Tell me, Yelena, do you want to become a Saint?"

Aiolos held his breath at the question, completely taken aback at the non-sequitur. He did not understand why Camus would pose it after the fight they just had, but he didn't really understand how the Aquarius-born functioned, either. He'll just chalk it up to their Zodiac sign differences and see how Yelena would react to this offer.

" _No._ "


	4. Goodbyes and hellos

**A note before I start: I've taken in some suggestions, and I'll be touching up on the former chapters very soon. The most significant difference would the Yelena's age - I've elevated her from the 8 to 11. Basically everything else remains identical.**

 **Also, I love you, my constant reviewers!**

 **Virgin of Aquarius: I'm glad you think so, and so happy I managed to portray Camus and Yelena so believably for you to enjoy! Completely unrelated: I'm an Aquarius. ;) Team Hyoga/Camus/Degel all the way!**

 **Thrudgelmir2333, I both love and hate you for being such a honest critic of my work. (But I lean more on the love side, tbh.) Do keep me in check, please!**

 **On to the story!**

* * *

 **Previously:**

 **"Indeed," Camus replied in a low voice, walking up to the girl until he towered over her slight form. "Indeed. Tell me, Yelena, do you want to become a Saint?"**

 **"** ** _No._** **"**

* * *

"No?" Camus murmured, voice heavy with disappointment. He was expecting the refusal, but it couldn't soften the blow of rejection. He had finally met someone who did not shy away from the natural coldness of an Aquarius Saint, and she just refused training.

"No," Yelena confirmed, crossing her arms and taking a step back. "And you can't persuade me to think otherwise."

"I see." Camus sighed and turned to the windows, wishing for the guidance from anyone. How was he supposed to deal with the girl? He couldn't just leave her out here with all the knowledge about the Sanctuary. However… training was not the only way you could become permanently attached to the Saints. "Will you tell me why?"

"I'm proud of who I am, Saint Aquarius," Yelena shrugged, and Camus could feel her gaze burning holes into his side. "I don't want to give up my name and face. It's not fair."

"I might agree with you," Camus said, placing a loosely curled fist underneath his chin, "but the Amazon masks are the tradition of the Saints. You cannot change that."

"I said nothing about changing things," the girl huffed. "I just said I'm not doing it. There is no forcing someone to become Saint, is it?"

"No, there isn't." Camus frowned at his reflection, the path clearing up by minute. He disliked it immensely – he could sense a great potential for Cosmo manipulation within the girl, and it was a waste not to use it – but he literally had no other option at the moment. "But I cannot allow you to stay out of Sanctuary's jurisdiction."

Yelena cocked her head, eyes focusing on the spot next to her and slightly above her eye level, before returning her gaze to him. "Why?"

"You know far too much," Camus turned to her with a blank expression. "You have not signed your life away to Athena, but you said you were taught by a Gold Saint, which means -"

"Which means I don't have a choice," Yelena finished for him, shoulders slumping and head bowing. A moment later she fell on her knees, but Camus did not step forward to help her: he saw her controlling her descent. She wasn't in that much of a shock, she just needed time to collect her wits, just like a true Aquarius.

For the what felt like millionth time in the last ten minutes, Camus regretted being unable to convince her to come into training. She would've been a marvelous saint – in fact, Camus would've trained her personally as his replacement, had she accepted.

"Alright. What options do I have?" the girl asked after a few moments, breathing in deeply and clasping her hands in her lap before she lifted her gaze.

"Only two, I'm afraid," Camus said, sitting down and crossing his legs so he wouldn't have to stare down at her. That was simply unnerving. "You can either spend time with me in Siberia training ground – which I believe you will have no trouble with," he added with humorous chuckle, getting a small smile from the girl as a result. He had guessed her country of origin correctly – good to know his deduction skills were not rusty. "Or you can come with me to the Sanctuary and stay as the servant of the eleventh House."

Yelena pressed her lips tightly together, appearing deep in thought. "I can't say the Siberia idea is not nice – I haven't been home for the last two years." Camus nodded, familiar with the bouts of homesickness every non-Greek Saint experienced. Even he, the infamously detached Saint, sometimes felt pangs of longing for Lyon, his hometown. "But… Master wants to go home," she whispered with an oddly nostalgic tone, and Aquarius frowned in confusion. Aiolos wanted to come home? Didn't he betray them in the first place?

"I see." No, he didn't see, but he had to act like he understood the girl's and former Sagittarius Saint's motives. Besides, even if he didn't understand them right now, he had time. Yelena will be attached to his House – she will be near him at all times. He'll figure her out in a year, maximum. "Then I suggest you pack up and say your goodbyes quickly. I'm overstaying my welcome here as it is."

Yelena tilted her head for a second, then shook it and stood up. "I don't think you're overstaying your welcome, but as you wish. Saori likes you, and her word is basically the law here. They treat her like a little goddess sometimes, I swear – good thing I was around to deflate her."

Camus narrowed his eyes at the emphasis she put on the word _goddess_ , cataloging it and then banishing it from the forefront of his mind. He had to return to the Sanctuary, give the report to the Pope and explain the newest addition to the Aquarius Temple.

* * *

 _You did it._

Aiolos sighed in relief when he spotted the glimmer of interest in Camus' eyes. He was a bit worried Yelena had been a bit too subtle in relaying the message to the other Gold saint, but apparently, she knew exactly what she was doing. Yelena smiled slightly, taking care to turn her back to Aquarius Saint before she did it, and exited the room.

"Of course I did it," his student preened, setting down the corridor for the east wing – the residential wing where all the boys slept. "I can deal with a fellow Aquarius."

 _Don't let it get to your head,_ Aiolos warned her, falling in step with her and placing his hand on her arm. Unlike a few minutes ago, Yelena did not stiffen at the phantom contact between them. _You still have to deal with keeping your wits around Saga at all times._

"You let me worry about Saga," eleven-year-old huffed, turning around the corner and entering what she unofficially called 'the orphan town' – a long corridor filled with eight military-style bedrooms, steel cots, white and dark green sheets and all. "You better not get us into trouble because of your little brother."

Aiolos frowned, the pain of the separation hitting him head on. He was going to see Aiolia after all this time. It had been nearly six years since he had died: six years since he left his brother to deal with the fallout of his spontaneous decisions without telling him why he did it.

It had also been six years he had been keeping secret from Yelena just why Shura attacked him that night. The girl was not aware Saori was reincarnated Athena – she had thrown out the comment on Aiolos' urging, not knowing what he meant to imply. However, he knew that silence was not going to last – Yelena was far too smart to be easily fooled, and Aiolos was not that good at lying. The only reason she hadn't found out earlier was because Aiolos refused to talk about the night he died, and Yelena respected him enough not to press for details.

 _I can control myself,_ Aiolos finally said as the pair arrived at the doors of the farthest room – Hyoga's, Shun's and Ikki's room. _I will._

Yelena nodded and opened the door, the kids inside falling silent as she entered.

"Big sis Yelena!" Shun cried out from his bed, scrambling off it and running to clutch at her leg. "ImsososorryIdidntmeantodoit -"

"Shun, Shun!" Yelena gently pried the green-haired boy's hands from her pant leg, kneeling to put herself at his level. "Shun, look at me." The boy looked at her, big green eyes watering, and Yelena couldn't help but smile, wiping away his tears. Aiolos took a step back, closing his own eyes before the tears spilled: he could see himself and Aiolia in Yelena and Shun's place so easily, it was painful.

"Shun, I'm not – okay, I'm a bit angry." Yelena sighed, taking Shun's hands in her own. "You must _never_ experiment with the Cosmo without someone who knows more close by. I didn't say anything at first, because it usually takes a while for trainees to start working with Cosmo, but I'm telling you now. Never, ever use the Cosmo without me or your Saint teacher, okay?"

"Okay," Shun nodded, rushing in for a hug. Yelena returned the hug, taking a deep breath before looking at the other children.

"Come here, kiddos. You won't see for a while."

 _Maybe never,_ Aiolos could hear the grim undertone in her words, and his heart went out to the poor boys who would either drop out and become foot soldiers or die on their paths. He was aware of the reality, but it didn't mean he couldn't sympathize.

"You're going away?" Hyoga, the boy Aiolos often likened to Camus and Yelena's only remaining friend demanded as he rushed into Yelena's open arms, the other boys not far behind with their hugs and questions. _Why are you going? Where are you going?_

"I'm going with Aquarius Saint to Sanctuary," Yelena revealed with a bittersweet smile. "I have no choice."

"Will you be a Saint?" Shun, the naïve yet observant child, asked with a shaky voice, and the rest of the boys froze. Yelena had not skimped on telling how difficult parts of Saint training will be, and Aiolos knew they were probably imagining their big sister going through all that pain.

"No," Yelena shook her head, smiling to dispel her boys' terror. "I'll be a servant in eleventh House."

 _And ninth,_ Aiolos added, briefly hugging her from behind. _Don't forget to keep my home somewhat okay._

Yelena just rolled her eyes at him, but Aiolos simply smiled, not insulted at all. That was just how Yelena reacted to him 'being a silly idiot', as she put it.

"Oh thank God," Ikki muttered, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the boys.

"Yeah, so no worries," Yelena ruffled Shun's hair, patted each of the boys' heads and stood up. "Now get me everyone here so I can say goodbye, and some final things, okay?"

The eight boys scattered to the other rooms to let everyone know Yelena was leaving.

"Talk," Yelena said in a commanding tone, and Aiolos narrowed his eyes at the insolent tone.

 _Who is the Master here?_

"You're hiding something from me," Yelena accused with burning eyes, and the Sagittarius winced at the fury he could read in her face. "What, exactly, did you 'forget' to tell me in the last six years, Master?"

 _I… Promise me you will not judge,_ Aiolos begged his student, collapsing onto his knees and folding them into a cross-legged position. _I did some things I shouldn't have in the name of the higher goal._

"I will not judge until I hear the whole story," Yelena promised him, sitting down on one of the beds in the room. "Now spill."

 _I told you Shura killed me while I was running away from Sanctuary on Saga's orders as he pretended to be Pope,_ Aiolos said, head bowed. _What I didn't tell you… Saga tried to kill baby Athena, and I saved her. Saga spun it like I tried to kill Pope and present the false Athena to the Sanctuary. I had to run, only stopping to scribble the message in my Temple, hide it and pick up the Cloth._

"Wait…" Yelena raised her hand, eyes wide and mouth open. "The Sagittarius Cloth Kido has… you gave it to him?"

 _Yes, in a sense,_ Aiolos confirmed, rubbing his biceps as he remembered the coldness of that night. _I told no one what happened, not even Aiolia. When I got away from Shura, carrying Athena, I ran into Mitsumasa Kido – my savior. He promised to take care of Athena himself, and I suppose he took the Cloth as well: I was already on my way to the Praeserpe Cluster when that happened._

"So Athena…" Aiolos could hear the dots connecting in Yelena's head as she saw the truth. "Athena is Saori Kido?!"

 _Yes._

Aiolos could not do this anymore: he faded from even Yelena's gaze, nestling himself in the depths of her heart. He needed to rest before their journey to Sanctuary. As he was right now, he would not be able to face either his brother nor Saga and keep his wits, and too much rode on his shoulders for him to let it happen.

Athena's and Yelena's safety were his first priority.

* * *

Saga rubbed the shoulder pad of the Pope uniform, cursing under his breath as it chafed at him, unhappy with the wearer. Ever since he donned the heavy mantle and robes of the Pope, the clothes found a way to express their unhappiness with him, and Saga believed they would drive him to madness quicker than his shadow self, lurking at the back of his mind and waiting to strike when Saga was preoccupied.

"Sir? Aquarius Camus is here," one of the guards at the gate startled him out of his thoughts, and the former Gemini Saint quickly composed himself for the audience with the most perceptive of the Gold Saints. Saga was under no illusion he had managed to fool Camus. No, Camus knew, but decided for whatever reason to keep his mouth shut and behave like everything is normal – probably because he believed that was better for the Sanctuary.

"Let him in," Saga ordered, and guard bowed.

"Yes, sir. However…"

"Yes?" Saga asked impatiently, wanting to get this over with. Camus didn't have a particularly difficult mission, and the faster they could finish it, happier they would be.

"He brought a guest."

Saga blinked, momentarily taken aback. A guest? Oh well, he will see.

"Let them in."

The guard went outside, leaving the doors open for the Gold Saint and his guest to come in.

Camus came in striding confidently, his cape flowing behind him and Gold Cloth gleaming in the filtered light of the Pope's audience room. The icy Cosmo the man usually exuded, however, looked to be in some sort of tumult – probably because of the guest he brought, Saga mused as Camus kneeled in front of the Pope's seat, revealing the guest walking behind him.

The first thing Saga noticed was the cascading blonde locks and icy blue eyes of the girl standing with her arms crossed behind Camus. The second thing he noticed were the armlets around her biceps decorated with the sign of Aquarius. And the third thing… the third thing was her blue-silver Cosmo interlaid with gold.

 _Who was the girl?_

"Welcome back, Aquarius Camus," Saga said formally for appearance's sake. "I see you brought a stray with you."

The accusation was said with a mild tone, but inside Saga was panicking. The armlets were only worn by the servants of the Twelve Houses, and they were usually the former Saint trainees that suffered some debilitating injury. This girl was no Saint trainee, even with the strange Cosmo she wore around herself like an armor; in other words, she was a liability. If she figures things out…

If she figures things out, then Saga's shadow will kill her, and Saga would not be able to deal with another death on his consciousness.

"I could not leave her in the outside world Pope, and she refused Saint training," Camus explained in a cool voice, unruffled by the scolding. "This was the only other option I could think of."

"I see. Please give me your report, then I will hear out girl's case."

Aquarius Saint launched himself in succinct, yet detailed description of the dealings he had had in Japan, reporting only successes like usual, which left Saga free to observe the girl's behavior. She watched him with narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows, gaze searching for something on him. In a lot of ways, the gaze reminded him of Camus, but it held the traces of _something_ Saga just couldn't identify.

"Thank you, Camus," Saga said perfunctorily when the other man finished the narrative. "Now please, explain the girl."

"I have a name, you know," the girl snapped insolently, the ice in her eyes thinning and showing molten fire burning in them. _Oh, so she has a temper AND an ego_ , Saga noted with surprise, and he felt his shadow sneak closer to listen to the proceedings.

"Yelena!" Camus scolded her with a cold glare, which she returned for a few seconds before folding and muttering an apology under her breath. "I'm sorry, Pope, she had been a leader for too long to let go of all her habits."

Saga waved away the apology, but he had to admit he was intrigued now. How in the universe did Camus manage to find the girl, and what kind of life she lived before? She didn't look much older than ten or eleven – who would put a child like her as a leader? "She's new to this -"

"She's not," Camus interrupted, crossing his arms. "That's the problem. She knows the procedure, and she still refuses to adhere to it."

"Like you didn't break rules left and right when you were younger," the girl – Yelena, was it? – fired back, looking completely unimpressed with the Gold Saint. "You're an Aquarius, aren't you?"

"Being an Aquarius does _not_ mean you can be an insolent brat to your superiors, Yelena," Camus shook his head and amped up his glare. Saga worried for a moment the duo would bring the temperature inside to the absolute zero simply by glaring at each other. "And you know that. Or did your Master forget to tell you that?"

"Don't you dare drag Master into this!" Yelena positively _hissed_ , and Saga found himself at the edge of his seat, his shadow now even more aware and interested. Master? This girl was a puzzle inside and out, and Saga had to understand her. He had to, because he couldn't afford to have loose canons this close to him, and right now, Yelena was exactly that – a loose canon. "Not after what you did to him!"

"It wasn't I who killed him," Camus snapped, his legendary patience also fraying and temper igniting. "And he deserved it after everything he did!"

"Of course you'd say that!" Yelena snorted and took a step back. "He ran through your House that night, didn't he? Have you even looked into his eyes, or did you just assume?"

"I assume nothing, as you should know," Camus retorted, and now Saga was a bit afraid. The Cosmo around the two was starting to pick up, and ice was forming around the arguing pair's feet. "I collect _evidence_."

"Then how did you arrive at the moronic conclusion that Master tried to kill Athena and Pope?!"

In that moment, the gold tint separated completely from girl's natural silver-blue Cosmo, forming a silhouette of a person Saga knew so well, even if he couldn't see any distinguishing features.

 _Aiolos. Aiolos is her Master._

Saga gasped as the shadow inside him fought him for the control ( _Murder her! Murder her, now!_ ), barely managing to beat him into submission. When he opened his eyes, he was met with knowing looks from the duo, who had stopped arguing during his crisis.

The only thing Saga could stutter out was:

" _How?_ "


	5. New servant of Aquarius Temple

**_Okay... I have no idea how I found time for this, considering I have midterms, but I guess a couple hundred words every time I get frustrated with my snail-pace study progress quickly makes for a full-blown chapter... Who am I kidding, I loved writing this!_**

 ** _On with the story!_**

* * *

 ** _Previously:_**

 ** _Aiolos. Aiolos is her Master._**

The only thing Saga could stutter out was:

" _How?_ "

* * *

 _Minutes before:_

Yelena didn't know what to expect from the former Gemini Saint currently sitting on the Pope's chair. Aiolos rarely talked about anyone from the time he was alive – except Aiolia, and Yelena was honestly a bit sick of all the stories about his baby brother.

 _He has a shadow clinging to him_ , Aiolos murmured as they inspected Saga, and Yelena could picture the man's face: eyebrows furrowed, lips pinched and back tensed. Yelena smiled at him briefly and turned back to Saga, feeling the burning imprint of her Master's hand on her shoulder. _He didn't have a shadow that night._

Suddenly, an insane idea entered Yelena's mind. Maybe it was time to coax the shadow out, so she could see him. She had said nothing to Camus in the Aquarius temple as he outfitted her with a modest, traditional Greek dress, brown sandals and golden armlets with Aquarius etched into them – the sign she was in service of the Twelve Zodiac Houses – but she could see he suspected something was wrong with the official story. More than likely, he guessed something was left out, but said nothing. Why, Yelena couldn't fathom, but Master Aiolos seemed okay with the situation, so she didn't press.

Back to her insane idea – ruffling the shadow's feathers. She needed to see what she was going up against.

 _Are you insane?!_ Aiolos shouted at her, overhearing her train of thought, and reached out to her brain to shut her mouth before she could say anything, but it was far too late – Yelena had already talked back at Saga, and the argument escalated before he could do anything about it.

"Then how did you arrive at the moronic conclusion that Master tried to kill Athena and Pope?!"

 _Yelena, SHUT UP!_ Aiolos screamed, infusing every piece of his Cosmo that he could spare into the command, desperately trying to reign her in before her razor tongue got her killed. Yelena closed her mouth with a resounding finality; at the same time, Pope pitched forward in his seat, hands flying up to his head and clutching at the headpiece he wore.

"Oh," Camus whispered, the light appearing in his eyes as the puzzle pieces clicked in his head, and Yelena nodded in confirmation. "You stupid, stupid girl."

"I know," Yelena said brazenly, crossing her arms and smirking at the Gold Saint.

"You may have Aiolos stuck to you, but you're not immortal," Camus shook his head in disbelief, crossing his arms as well and turning his head to check on the Pope. "Why did you do that?"

Yelena frowned and opened her mouth to talk, but Camus interjected, cutting her off before she could speak.

"Not now," he pointedly gestured with his head at the Pope, who was slowly regaining his bearing. "We'll talk later."

 _Yes, we will,_ Aiolos promised darkly, and Yelena flinched and looked at Pope to avoid looking at her Master's stormy eyes.

She _might_ have gone a bit overboard.

Snort from her Master told her he had heard that part too, and disagreed on the 'a bit' part, but oh well. She had a situation she needed to deal with right now.

"How?" Saga asked weakly, and the Aquarius duo turned to face the Pope.

"How what, you Excellency?" Camus asked calmly.

"Aiolos," Saga gestured feebly at Yelena's Master standing right behind her, and Yelena gaped at the implication, feeling Master's hand clench on her shoulder. _He could see Master?_ "How is he here?"

 _You can see me, Saga?_ Aiolos whispered, words sounding unusually clipped and strangled, and Yelena had to sneak a look behind her to see how her Master was faring.

Aiolos was the palest Yelena had ever seen him, up and including the time she had played with her Cosmo without supervision, lower lip trembling and eyes shiny from the excess water. Yelena's fists clenched unconsciously, and she had to bite her lip to stop her own tears from coming forth. Oh, how she hated not being able to touch her Master!

Saga's eyes were fixed on Aiolos, but as far as Yelena could tell, he could not hear him, which made her eyes narrow. She had to get used to seeing the metaphysical Cosmo before she saw her Master's face, but she could always hear him. Was the reverse true when the soul of the deceased was not stuck to you?

"You can see him, Pope?" Camus took a step forward, looking in the direction where Saga had pointed, but his eyes simply skipped over Aiolos. Yelena bit her lip and let her Master overhear her thought process.

 _I… go ahead._ Aiolos took in a shuddering breath. _Just don't lose your head again!_

"I can speak for Master Aiolos if you want me to," Yelena offered, ignoring the last warning from her Master. Saga wouldn't do anything to her with witnesses so close by…

…right?

"No, please don't," Saga begged her, pinching the bridge of his nose and leaning on one of the armrests. "I don't know if I can hold _it_ back."

Yelena took a step back, eyes blown wide and heart sharing space with her larynx in her throat as she finally sensed the twisting, writhing _mess_ of darkness just off to Pope's side. So far, she had felt nothing but comfort and safety inside the Sanctuary walls – so much, in fact, she had allowed herself to relax and drop her usually high-strung battle instincts. She should've listened to her Master and remained aware of her surroundings.

"Your Excellency!" Camus rushed to Saga, but the former Gemini Saint stopped him dead in his tracks with a glare Yelena swore could melt down the white marble gleaming around them.

"I'll be fine, Aquarius Camus." With that said, the Pope turned the gaze back to the newest addition to the Twelve Houses of Zodiac. "However, I'll ask you not to speak of that man here, Miss…"

"Yelena," Yelena curtsied and held the position, head bowed to avoid looking the Pope in the eye. "Yelena Plisetskaya, servant of the eleventh House."

"Very well. Sanctuary accepts your pledge. Go and serve at your Master's and our Lady's pleasure," Saga sighed, and Yelena all but bolted out of the room, recognizing the dismissal for what it was.

Now, she had to contend with not one, but _two_ scoldings: one from Master, and other from her new Master Camus.

Somehow, two irate Gold Saints scared her less than that darkness she left in the Pope's chambers.

* * *

"Hello, Aldebaran," Aiolia greeted the guardian of the second House with a short wave, dragging his feet up the steps between the first and second House. He had crossed but one of them, and he was already tired beyond belief – how was he going to manage three more sets, and pass through Cancer Temple guardian without dropping dead somewhere along the way?

"Hola, Aiolia!" The Brazilian thundered in greeting as he jumped up from his post, smiling from ear to ear before sobering up at the sight of Aiolia's face. "You look like someone beat you up and used you as a rag to wipe floor with."

"Thank you oh so much, Alde'," Aiolia grumbled, stopping next to the Taurus Saint to catch a breath for the rest of the journey up. He didn't really need a reminder of the mission he just went through. "That mission on Three Mile Island was a real mess."

"That bad, huh?" The Brazilian carefully sat down and patted the stone next to himself in invitation. Aiolia eyed the seat with longing before shaking his head in mute refusal. "What happened?"

"I got a human killed," Aiolia sighed and bit his lip. "I waited too long."

"Oh dear," Aldebaran sympathized, the golden helmet with bull's horns doing nothing to hide the other Saint's worried expression. "Then maybe you should wait a bit before reporting to the Pope."

"My thoughts exactly," Aiolia summoned a small smile from the void in his heart to reassure one of the only Saints who never doubted him, even after the story of what his bro- no.

Aiolos was no brother of his anymore. He betrayed the Sanctuary, left him to deal with the aftermath and made most of the Sanctuary distrust him. He was nothing but a traitorous bastard to Aiolia – or at least, that was what his mind was assured of. He hoped that, if he repeated the mantra enough times, he would convince his childish heart of it as well.

"Right. Oh, and Camus came back as well – brought a servant with him," Aldebaran informed the youngest Gold Saint with a smile and a wink as the boy turned to leave. "She looked quite pretty – just your type, actually."

"Aldebaran!" Aiolia shouted – no, he did _not_ stutter, you heard it wrong! – at the Taurus Saint. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I should be the one asking _you_ that, kitten." Aldebaran had the nerve to smirk at him. Aiolia dearly wished there was a way for him to punch the Brazilian in his smug face without causing the Thousand Day Battle. "Apart from the annual Feats of Athena and missions you refuse to leave your Temple. How will you ever find yourself a nice gal? Or lad, I don't mind much," Taurus Saint added on quickly.

Aiolia could not _believe_ this.

"I'm out of here," the Leo Saint muttered to himself, pushing past his tiredness to get the _hell_ away from Aldebaran.

He did not need someone 'helping' him in the relationship department, even if his name was Taurus Aldebaran. He was a Saint of Athena: he didn't need to find a significant other! In fact, finding a significant other would only lead to conflict between his duty as Saint and duty as a lover.

 _THUMP!_

"Ow!"

"Ouch!"

Aiolia staggered back, catching the human he collided with while deep in thought before they could fall to the ground. The first thing he noticed was the soft, golden hair he had so far only seen on Shaka. The second thing was the jug on the marble steps – thankfully, the pottery did not seem cracked in any way.

And the third thing… the third thing were _those eyes._ Aiolia had never seen those eyes before, but for a second he could've sworn he saw a familiar flash of _something_ in them. Relief? Recognition? Joy? He wasn't sure: his brother, no, _traitor_ , had been far better in reading people.

"Watch where you're going!" the scandalized voice pierced his musings, and Aiolia refocused on the girl he had collided with.

"I'm sorry!" Leo Saint hurriedly apologized, letting go of her and picking up the empty jug from where it landed next to his feet. It was wooden – of course nothing happened when it fell. "I'm really sorry, I was a bit lost in thought -"

"Okay, okay," the girl sighed, taking the jug from him and hefting it up on her shoulder. "No harm, no foul. Just watch next time, okay? Thank Goddess Master Camus gave me a wooden jug for those flowers…" she grumbled to herself as she walked past him.

Aiolia started for second, the dots connecting in his head before he spun around.

"Wait!"

The girl stopped and craned her neck, so she could see him without turning too much.

"You came with Camus?"

Girl nodded sharply, and Aiolia had to withhold a curse. What a first impression he had made! He, a Gold Saint, not only managed to collide with the newest servant of the Twelve Houses, but also nearly got another Gold Saint furious with his servant for Aiolia's mistake! Stupid, stupid, stupid Aiolia!

"I'm so, so sorry," Aiolia repeated, this time with far more feeling. "Can I make it up to you?"

"No need, Saint Leo," the girl chuckled, shaking her head and setting off to the back porch of the Taurus Temple. "I'm just fetching flowers from the village for the new Lyra Saint's concert tonight."

"Then let me help you," Aiolia pressed the issue, an uneasy feeling crawling into his gut. He hated owing anything to anyone, and he hated apologizing even more, but he knew that when he messed up, he should make up for it. "I can get you there and back to Aries Temple faster."

"If you move at lightspeed, the flowers will be ruined," the girl frowned at him, stopping and turning around completely to face him, her armlets catching the sun rays and sparkling in it.

"I can slow to Mach 1, I promise." Aiolia gave her the best puppy-eyes he could manage and prayed it would work.

The girl pressed her lips in a tight line, eyes darting between the spot next to her shoulder and Aiolia. After about a minute she huffed and motioned for Aiolia to come closer. Aiolia smiled in relief and rushed to her side, picking her up princess-style. He waited for the girl to shift the jug she carried around to her chest when something nagged at his mind.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I introduced myself."

"No need," the girl smirked, "Leo Aiolia. Master Camus told me who the guardians are. My name's Yelena Plisetskaya."

"Oh," Aiolia breathed, mouthing the name to himself. "That's a pretty name."

"Thank you," Yelena blushed a bit and ducked her head. "Um, I have to be back by the sundown."

"Crap, I'm sorry!" Aiolia hissed and readied himself to start running. "Ready?"

"You're saying sorry way too much," Yelena commented before nestling her head into his shoulder and closing her eyes. "Relax. I'm ready."

With the permission given, Aiolia took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes – he promised he would not go over Mach 1, and that took concentration nowadays – and set off to Rodorio.

* * *

Camus watched his new – and currently only – servant go through the tenth and ninth House and step onto the steps between ninth and eighth before he walked back inside his own Temple. The dust that loved to cling to the rarely-used bookshelves and the time-capsule-like vitrine was gone, and the bedding was hanging at the back porch, drying on the midday Greek sun. To be honest, Camus had appreciated Yelena's presence, despite her occasional cockiness and moments she simply lost her head. He now realized why so many of his colleagues kept one or two servants close – it took off some of the pressure from him.

Picking up a Nietzsche book he had been reading before he was sent to Japan, he sat cross-legged at the back porch and fell back into it, letting the slowly sinking sun bathe his lightly-tanned skin. As he read, he lost the track of time, but kept up the peripheral awareness through his Cosmo, which alerted him to a Gold Saint approaching his Temple after a few hours.

"Hey, Camus," the brash voice came from behind him, and Camus smiled as he turned to greet Scorpio Milo with a hug and a pat to the back.

"Welcome back, Milo. How was the inspection?"

Milo groaned and tore off his Cloth's headdress, shaped to resemble the tail of the scorpion, throwing it on the coffee table before throwing himself on Camus' couch. Camus did the same with the book, but with far more care.

"Terrible," the Scorpio Saint whined, closing his eyes and covering them with his arm for a good measure. "If that was what Aiolos dealt with every single time, no wonder he went mad!"

Camus stiffened at the casual reminder of his deceased comrade, who, contrary to his belief, found no solace in his death.

"What, still touchy about that, Camus?" Milo blinked, expertly reading his friend's body language. "I thought you got over it?"

"I thought I did," Camus sighed and went to sit at Milo's feet. He couldn't say everything to his friend, unfortunately – he had no idea how Milo would react to the news about Aiolos. "Then I got a bad reminder from the girl I ran into in Japan."

"Ooh, a girl got under your skin? Wow! Was she hot?" Milo smirked, and Camus whacked him over the head.

"She's eleven!" Camus let the shock and disgust as his friend's pervert ways flood his voice. "Don't even suggest something like that!"

Milo raised his eyebrows. "Then what's the deal, Camus? It's not like you to just take interest in people, let alone someone not connected to the Sanctuary."

"She is," Camus leaned back, eyes fixed on the marble ceiling painted to resemble the ever-falling water flowing from Ganymede's endless urn. "She knew the basics of the Cosmo when I found her, and was giving lessons to future saint-candidates, and is now my servant."

He left out the part about the Aiolos being stuck to her, and the fact she had flat-out refused Saint training even with her massive potential. Milo liked figuring things out on his own, and nothing interested him more than finding out the answers to the mystery. Camus would not serve him all the answers on the silver platter.

"Nice!" Milo nodded and yawned. "Wow, I slept for twelve hours and I'm still tired. Anyways, where is she? I thought you'd keep her close."

"She's gone down to get flowers from Rodorio," Camus shrugged. "We have a new Lyra Saint, and Pope wants to hear him in person."

"A concert? Bo~ring," Milo yawned again as he sing-sang the last word. "Mandatory, or?"

"For the Zodiac? I'm afraid so," Camus said in sympathy, rolling his eyes at Milo's exaggerated expression of terror. "Oh, stop behaving like a child, Milo! Lyra Saints are known for being very pleasant to listen to. You'll like the music."

"Bah!" Scorpio Saint waved in disinterest. "You know I don't really care for that cultural nonsense."

"Which would explain your atrocious taste in music and literature," Camus scoffed, but the bite of the words was gentled by a fond smile. "Pop music and trashy romance novels, Milo. How can you even read and listen to that without questioning the sanity of the collective humankind?"

"Because I'm not overthinking everything I see, Camus," Milo retorted, and Camus was gearing up for another round of their friendly bantering when the sound of bickering wafted through the Temple.

 _"You didn't have to do it, Aiolia! I would've gotten through the rest of the Temples on my own!"_

 _"Have you tried going through Scorpio, or Capricorn, when their guardians were there? They wouldn't have just let you, Yelena!"_

 _"So you thought you'd tag along and fight your way through? Are you that desperate for a good fight?"_

 _"No, I just -"_

 _"I have the armlets of the Temple of Aquarius, Aiolia! Everyone with armlets have a free pass up to twelfth house! Besides, aren't Master Camus and Scorpio Milo friends?"_

"We certainly are," Camus intoned, standing up and walking up to the entrance, where Aiolia and Yelena were frozen mid-argument. "In fact, Milo is currently a guest in my Temple, and Shura is on an extended mission – I'm not sure if he'll be able to make to tonight's concert."

"Lucky bastard," Milo grumbled, shuffling from the couch to Camus' side. "Wish I had that good of an excuse. And really Aiolia: spreading lies about me behind my back?"

"Those are not lies," Aiolia retorted, and Milo snickered, crossing his arms.

Camus pinched the bridge of his nose as the two _idiots_ started shouting at each other, heedless of the rising tempers of the Aquarius-born present. Yelena was clutching the jug filled with various flowers with such force, her knuckles were nearing white, and her eyes screamed bloody murder as she shifted her gaze to him.

 _Do something!_

Camus nodded shallowly at her plea, cocking his head and looking pointedly at Aiolia.

 _Help me with the Leo._

A nasty smirk appeared on Yelena's lips, and she placed the jug carefully down before settling into a relaxed fighter stance, legs creating an extended 'L' and palms raised to her chin, but not clenched in fists.

 _You trust me that much?_

Camus shook his head and smirked as well, raising his non-dominant right hand, palm vertical with the ground.

 _Prove me you can control yourself._

 _Challenge accepted,_ said Yelena's eyes before she closed them, brows furrowing in concentration.

" _Koltso!_ "

" _Koltso!_ "


	6. Strong, yet fragile

**Let's stick to 3k, I decided... nope. Not gonna happen. 4.6k words, just for this chapter. What the hell. Andromeda and Ganymede really decided to run their mouths... and provide me with a plot point I had honestly wanted to scrap because of the sheer cliche-ism. Then again, I attended the SF literary workshop this weekend, and got the best advice about them ever: the point isn't in cliches, but in how well can you do them. So, I'll give my best!**

 **Anyways, Virgin of Aquarius: glad you liked Camus' and Yelena's temper! Aquarius people in general have low tolerance for BS, and Aiolia and Milo just can't help but throw massive amounts of it around...**

 **Thrudgelmir2333: Thank you for the honesty! And more constructive criticism we give each other, the better our writing gets and the stories become more enjoyable, so it's a win-win for us both! (and after all this time, I still have to check your name when I write it to avoid typos. Man...)**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _Prove me you can control yourself._

 _Challenge accepted ,_ said Yelena's eyes before she closed them, brows furrowing in concentration.

" _Koltso!_ "

" _Koltso!_ "

* * *

There were very few things Milo hated passionately enough to subject to his Antares. One of the fourteen Scarlet Needle shots before, yeah, no problem, but he generally avoided using Antares if possible. It was an unnecessary overkill, and Milo wasn't into senseless murder like certain people *cough* Deathmask *cough*.

Unfortunately, being cold while stuck to the pillar, waiting for Camus to release him from the _Koltso_ he himself had cast on Milo was one of those things. He _hated_ cold. It brought memories of those uncomfortable nightmares he always had. They were blurry, true, but he didn't need to see the ice to feel the staggering pressure, the _cold_ , the feeling of being trapped in a freaking _ice box_ as he slowly died of the hypothermia from the outside and feverish heat from inside.

Camus knew of that, and he still employed the _Koltso_ on him.

"You're lucky I decided to go easy on you," Camus scolded him as he slowly moved his hand over Milo's right hand with which he normally attacked, the icy ring melting and disappearing into fine vapor.

Oh, had he voiced his complaints out loud?

"Yes, you did," _you idiot_ , was left unspoken. "And like I said, I could've done Aurora Execution or Freezing Coffin. That would've felt far worse."

"You wouldn't have used Freezing Coffin." Milo hissed and bit his lip as another part of him was released from the binds, the ice stubbornly clinging to the metal, creating an uncomfortable burning sensation. "You like us all too much."

"And exactly because I like you, I would've used Freezing Coffin," Camus snapped, finishing with the bindings and standing up. "Yelena, how is it going?"

"Nearly done," the new servant called back, unbinding Aiolia's shoulders with pressed lips and furrowed brow. "If you can take over, I'll make some tea to warm everyone up."

"Please do," Milo begged, shivering as he spoke even though it was sweltering hot outside. He needed heat to come from inside to help him forget the feeling of ice so near his skin.

Aiolia nodded in agreement, and after a few moments of intense staring, Camus walked over to Leo Saint and bent his knees to release the Leo Saint fully from the _Koltso_. Meanwhile, Yelena rushed over to the kitchen, pulling out the kettle and cups before stopping at the rack filled with teabags.

"Any preferences?" she shouted to the Saints.

"Black, Assam if there's still any left," Camus called back.

"Green," was Aiolia's answer.

"Fruity whatever," Milo decided, and he heard Camus scoff in the background but said nothing more.

 _That argument_ _again,_ Milo grumbled mentally as he clenched his fists, trying to chase away the paralysis-induced shakes. Camus often claimed that Milo's preferred teas weren't teas at all, but hot juicy drinks that had no right to call themselves teas.

"Give me five minutes," Yelena told them, the kettle already sitting on the stove and teabags she picked out resting next to the cups.

Milo frowned as he double-checked the number of cups. No, he had not miscounted: there were only three ceramic cups, one for each Saint currently in the Aquarius Temple. Why didn't she include one for herself?

"You're not drinking with us?" he asked her.

Yelena blinked, and Aiolia twisted his head to check what Milo was talking about. Camus frowned as well, crossing his arms as he finished defrosting the Leo Saint.

"Uh – no, I'm not," Yelena stuttered out, looking a little taken aback and confused. "I have to clean this place up and prepare the flowers for -"

"Yelena," Camus' voice brokered no argument, and the servant fell silent. "Take out another cup and make yourself tea. We need to have a nice, long talk. All four of us." Here, he sent a pointed look at Aiolia and Milo, who both ducked their heads a bit.

It wasn't that difficult to guess exactly what Camus wanted to talk about with the other two Gold Saints. He and Shaka were the chief mediators in the Golden Zodiac, able to neatly disengage their emotions from the situation at hand and look at things objectively – ergo, Scorpio and Leo Saints were in for a lecture. Milo sighed and picked himself up from the floor, settling back onto the couch he laid on before his spat with Aiolia. Just what he needed, on top of that ridiculous concert he would have to listen tonight!

However, why would Camus need to talk with his servant as well? Milo had spotted them communicating with their eyes, so her restraining Aiolia was not an unsanctioned action that would end with a lecture. What had she done wrong?

"Here," Yelena's voice dragged Milo out of his musings, followed by the oh-so familiar and beloved smell of apple and cinnamon.

"Thank you, this is my favorite!" Milo snatched the cup from the tray before the girl managed to set it down on the coffee table. "How did you know?"

"It was a fruity tea with least teabags on the rack," Yelena shrugged as she gave Aiolia and Camus their teas and took up her own as she sat on her folded legs at Camus' feet – green tea, as far as Milo could tell, but not the one he had ever seen before. "Since Master Camus ordered Assam, I figured that one was yours."

"Smarty-pants, just like Camus," Milo shook his head, amused by the similarities, and sipped at the perfectly steeped tea, relaxing in his seat.

"I am an Aquarius too," girl shrugged and closed her eyes, inhaling the aroma of the tea before taking a little sip of it.

"Really?" And now Aiolia joined the conversation, voice drowsy and eyes half-mast from the tea.

It was a well-known fact throughout the Golden Zodiac that Aiolia used green tea as a mild sedative when he needed to relax. According to the stories Milo had heard from Shura and Saga, Aiolos used the combination of tea's fumes and singing to lull his younger brother to sleep when he teethed so much, Aiolia started drifting the moment he smelled green tea when he grew up. The Pavlovian effect at its finest.

Milo had used that weakness against the Leo Saint once, to slow his reactions and make Leo Saint seem like he had been awake most of the night in front of Aiolos before the bastard turned traitor. The results were so amusing, it still managed to coax out laughter from the Gold Saints and make Aiolia flush horribly when Milo decided to drag it out.

"Yes, but we have no time to discuss our natal charts," Camus cut that line of questioning, glancing at the quickly setting sun. "Milo, Aiolia, when will you stop fighting over stupidest things? We are comrades!"

"Aren't we allowed to disagree sometimes, C-camus?" Milo stuttered over his friend's name, another name at the tip of his tongue before he swallowed it and balled his fists.

He still hadn't figured out why he sometimes tripped over other people's names, and it pissed him off.H

Badly.

"Not when you look for an excuse to start a fight, Milo!"

Camus was not taking any excuses this time, it seemed, and Milo huffed and crossed his arms. Why couldn't Camus see things from Milo's point of view? Aiolos was a traitor, and he all but raised Aiolia – chances were, the Leo Saint would turn to be a traitor, too. Better that happens now, when Leo was still young and did not have as many duties in the Golden Zodiac, then later, when his betrayal would cause yet another rift between the Gold Saints.

He was not going to drag it up right now, though. He'll have time to do it in private afterward, without spectators.

"Fine," Milo finally muttered, and Aiolia echoed the sentiment moments later.

Camus sighed and shook his head, resigned. "Very well. Yelena…"

Milo perked up and turned to the servant, who set down her cup on the floor and craned her neck to face the Aquarius Saint.

"Yes, Master Camus?"

"You overpowered that _Koltso._ "

Milo blinked at the disapproving note in Camus' voice. So what if the girl overpowered it? She was targeting a Gold Saint – _more is better_ was perfectly applicable in their case. Judging by Aiolia's flabbergasted expression, he didn't understand it either.

Yelena, on the contrary, bowed her head with a blank expression.

"I'm sorry, Master Camus," she whispered. Milo got the feeling she had expected this reprimand. "I'll do better next time."

Camus hooked his palm under her chin and forced her to look up to him.

"It's not about doing better," Camus said softly, yet sternly. "How long have you been using Cosmo?"

"Um – four years," Yelena blinked, face showing confusion.

"And your power levels are still fluctuating?"

Milo inhaled, the picture becoming a bit clearer – and a whole lot scarier. Four years of using Cosmo on her own, and she still haven't managed to control flow of her Cosmo? Dear Goddess, how much Cosmo did this girl really have, and why couldn't he sense it?

Better yet, how in the universe she wasn't _dead_?

"That… I…" Yelena looked hesitantly at Aiolia and Milo, and Scorpio Saint got the general idea: she wasn't going to say anything sensitive in front of them.

What was she hiding?

"It seems we'll have to discuss it later, Master Camus" The servant stood up, picking up the tray and the empty cups. "The sun is close to horizon, and I still need to arrange flowers..." she frowned at the last part. "Should I bring them up to the Pope's Chambers, or leave it with Pisces Saint?"

"Leave it with Aphrodite," Camus stood up as well, swiping Milo's headdress off the table. "He's the one taking care of the decorations."

"Great. Well, I'm leaving," Milo yawned theatrically and stretched on the couch. "Give me my headdress, Camus."

* * *

Andromeda sighed, shifting her sight from Shun, who was getting ready for bed, to her unofficial charge. Yelena was handling things better than she had expected, but she was still a child with penchant for rebellion. Damn Ganymede and his own insubordinate tendencies for that!

"I can hear you cursing me, you know."

The Trojan boy walked up to the former princess' side, looking into the mirror she used to check on the Earth.

"I know," Andromeda groused, focusing the mirror on Yelena and Ganymede's Saint. "And you're supposed to. Why are so many of your children so… argh! I can't even explain myself properly! It's like they're flip-flopping between two different mindsets!"

"Ah, that," the boy sighed, sitting down and crossing his legs. "I'll have to tell you a bit of a story if you are to understand those born under my rule. And no, it's not like the Dioscuri curse," he added, almost as an afterthought. "It's not just Saints who suffer, but every single child born under my rule."

"Every single one?"

Andromeda folded the long skirts of her dress and settled down as well, chains clanking around her as they folded into a near heap behind her, feeling no threat from the Zodiac spirit.

"Yes," Ganymede confirmed. "The Curse of Aquarius is the more common name for it."

 _Humans tie many stories to Aquarius constellation, the most notable ones being the one of the great god Ea who caused regular floods of Ephrates and Tigris, and of course, my own story – the story of a cup-bearer of Zeus. What the people do not know, though, was how I caught Zeus' eye._

 _Contrary to many stories, the King does not gaze often upon Earth – he has enough things to keep him occupied on Olympus. He usually only gazes down when lesser immortals or his children, who interact more often with mortals, inform him of something they believe would interest him. My name was brought to him by Zephyrus the Western Wind, the gentlest of the four wind-sons of Aeolus, who told him of a fair boy with insatiable curiosity that rivaled his favorite daughter Athena._

 _Intrigued, the god came down to Earth, taking with him the beautiful jeweled urn filled with the sacred waters of Lemnos, which gods used once to purify objects they deemed befouled by humans. That urn is now mine, but in those days, it belonged to no one, made by Hephaestus and discarded as spare._

 _Lord Zeus made a good use of it, taking it with him and transforming himself into a crone before walking deliberately near the path I used to take when I thought about things. Of course, once I spotted him, I couldn't not offer help – I had only seen a poor old lady carrying a large urn._

 _He accepted it, surprisingly enough, but he made it a challenge. He told me, with what I now understand was a smug smile, that he had no trouble carrying it, but only because he drank from the urn itself. If I managed to carry the urn back to the city without drinking any water, he would share his knowledge with me._

 _Being the naïve fool, I accepted – and failed, as you must've guessed. Gods never dare mortals to do something unless they're sure they know what the outcome will be. I was by no means a delicate child, but the fact remained that I was barely twelve – only starting to become a man, and I lacked the strength and endurance to carry the urn under the merciless midday sun._

 _I drank from the urn, and became bound to it._

 _You see, the waters of Lemnos were never meant to be touched by mortals – they would dissolve our flesh on first contact – let alone be drank by them. I had a bit of immortal blood in me, so it saved my body from being destroyed. My mind, on the other hand… well, that's different story altogether._

 _I saw what gods saw, for the lack of better words, and it nearly drove me insane. In fact, I came so close to insanity, I almost killed myself afterwards in horror. It was then that I swore never to let my heart overrule my head – and soon after, Zeus snatched me away._

 _Since then, those born under my rule have constantly toed that delicate line between madness and genius. They had to learn how to switch their emotions off, which is in contrast with their kind hearts – my children do not have the stomach for intentional cruelty or bloodshed. It's that switch that creates such wonderfully brilliant minds, but it also drives them to the point where they become unpredictable, even erratic…_

 _All because I had not questioned the intentions of an old woman._

"So harsh on yourself, Ganymede," Andromeda sighed, twirling a lock of her hair. Yelena's strange behavior finally made some sense. "She's not yet found the balance between her emotions and her mind. That's her problem, right?"

"Indeed, and those things take time," Ganymede told her mournfully. "Time she does not have, I'm afraid. The star movements do not look good, my dear Andromeda."

Andromeda nodded somberly. She had been seeing upcoming wars in the stars ever since Aiolos died, and she could foresee which one would come first – the one that would force Athena's loyal Saints against those who were loyal to Pope Saga.

"And we are forbidden from interfering directly with the happenings on Earth," Ganymede sighed, standing up and picking up his urn. "I can't believe Lord Zeus passed that decree…"

"I know," Andromeda grumbled to herself, not moving from her mirror. "Now I can't even reach out to comfort Shun – stars know how much he misses his big sister, even with Ikki and Hyoga hovering over him."

Ganymede made all of two steps to leave Andromeda's chambers before gasping and doubling over, the urn falling from his grasp. The princess turned at the sound.

"NO!" Andromeda screamed, instinctively sending the Triangle Chain to stop the urn from toppling over.

The chain arrived just moments too late: the urn had tipped too far, spilling water down to the Earth, but thankfully the Chain stopped it from going any further. Cursing a blue streak, Andromeda rushed and straightened the urn before going to Ganymede's side.

"What's wrong? Ganymede, talk to me!" Andromeda ordered, her voice filled with panic as her hands settled on Ganymede's shoulders. "Ganymede!"

"Y-yes, Andromeda?" The Aquarian coughed out the question, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.

"Is that – oh no," Andromeda spotted the blood. "I'm getting you to the Sun Temple, no excuses!"

"Pl-please, d-do-on't," Ganymede pleaded weakly, but the plea fell on deaf ears.

Andromeda had already warped the space, opening the tunnel to the Sun Temple, and wriggled her way under his arm. She was not letting her friend suffer!

"Chiron!" she called for the best healer amongst the Twelve Zodiacs. "Chiron, something's wrong with Ganymede!"

"Leave it be, I can-" Ganymede breathed, but Chiron, protector of the Sagittarius constellation, was already out of his rooms, clopping down to the pair with the healer's bag slung over his shoulder.

"Ganymede?" the centaur asked gently, motioning for Andromeda to lay him down on the golden table he had conjured out of Cosmo. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Chiron," the boy insisted, trying to get off the table Andromeda had pushed him on. "Andromeda's panicking over nothing."

"You have blood coming from your mouth," Andromeda countered with crossed arms. "Don't fool with me."

"Blood?" Chiron's eyes widened, and he instantly went for the chest. "Lungs or stomach? And don't lie to me, Ganymede!"

"Neither!" the cup-bearer insisted, trying to sit up. "I'm perfectly fine!"

"Then whose injuries are you taking?" Chiron demanded, slamming his palms on the slab. "Whose life are you extending?!"

Andromeda froze, dread pooling into her gut. There were only three people Ganymede would do this for, and only one lived beyond what could be considered normal for the situation.

Their secret was out.

"You extended someone's life? That goes against the flow of nature, Ganymede," Karkinos clicked from behind Andromeda, walking up to the slab and morphing from the crab into a young man Andromeda had not seen since 15th century – Cancer Sage. "And looks like Andromeda knows what we're talking about."

"Not a surprise, really."

Andromeda stiffened as the arms of the newcomer snaked around her middle, the wings creating a shade over her head.

"They've been spending _a lot_ of time together recently," Eros of Pisces murmured near Princess' ear. "If I didn't know how loyal she is to Perseus, I would've started wondering."

"Leave her alone, Eros," Astraea stepped forward, face pinched as she pushed the God of Sexual Love away from Andromeda. "But that does leave us with question of the person Ganymede is taking injuries for."

Ganymede and Andromeda kept their mouths shut, exchanging panicked looks. What could they say? Andromeda wanted to curse. Why didn't that idiot tell her he was taking Yelena's injuries for her?!

"Yelena?"

"Who's Yelena?"

Damn it. She forgot the Gemini had the ability to read minds.

Dioscuri brothers Castor and Pollux bounced in, settling on the steps of the inner courtyard, with all other signs following in their footsteps. Amalthea of Capricorn settled as far as she could from the twins, creating a three-feet radius of empty space around herself that only Themis of Libra dared to enter. Eros gently dragged Karkinos to their seat between the twins and Amalthea, joined by Nephe of Aries. Rigel of Leo, Aldebaran of Taurus and Antares of Scorpio did not join in, staying at the pillars behind the twins and watching the scene unfold.

Andromeda gulped and averted her eyes to the ground. She had good relations with Astraea and Ganymede, but she had never attended the infamous yearly summits of the Zodiacs, and all those eyes on her just made her that much more nervous.

"Who's Yelena indeed, Ganymede," Themis murmured, taking out her scales and settling them on the marble floor. "You are not the one to break such important rules."

"I can look, if you want," Karkinos offered, closing his eyes and crossing his legs. "I can sniff out her soul and see what's going on."

"Go ahead," Themis nodded at him. "Step back, Chiron, until we understand the situation."

"Ganymede is injured – Chiron can't just leave him!" Andromeda protested, taking a step towards her friend – and couldn't do so.

Arms encircled her, trapping her arms between her body and the man behind her. The darkness suddenly encroached, and Andromeda froze, cold crawling in her veins and turning her chest into an enormous stone. For a moment she lost the bearings, transported to that _horrible_ day: suddenly, all she wanted to do was to tear her heart out of her chest, claw her eyes out, _curl up and die and be gone, everything just to stop feeling those cold chains around her body -_

" _Andromeda!_ "

The arms released her, and Andromeda collapsed into a graceless heap onto the floor, gasping and panting, arms wrapped her around her torso. The sound did not register at first, all just being white noise and dark walls around her, but it slowly returned when she recognized Ganymede's voice whispering in her ear.

"-meda? Breathe with me, okay? Come on, Andromeda. You faced worse things: just breath. In, out, in, out…"

Andromeda took in a shaky breath just like Ganymede told her, and forced her eyelids to lift, revealing her friend's pale and worried face. Behind him she spotted Chiron and Rigel hovering, Chiron worried and Rigel looked close to panic attack.

"Andromeda? Are you with us?"

"Yes," she refocused on Ganymede, summoning a pale, weak smile for her friend's sake. "I'm okay, Ganymede."

"I'm so, so sorry!" Rigel blurted out, hands burrowed in the blonde, unruly mane he called hair. "I didn't know you'd react like that, I swear I didn't mean anything bad -!"

Andromeda raised her palm to halt the litany of apologies, feeling drained to the bone.

"It's OK, and I'll be OK, so stop fretting. Gods, you're worse than Shun when he gets going…" she muttered the last part, getting a strangled laugh from Ganymede.

"Your kid does that a lot," the water-bearer agreed before his face flattened out. "Are you well enough for the questioning?"

Andromeda sighed heavily and nodded. They knew the secret would be out sooner or later – frankly, five years was already a miracle.

"We're ready," Ganymede said to the eleven Zodiacs behind him, and the trial began.

* * *

Astraea leaned back in her seat, crossing her ankles, and turned to look at Karkinos as Ganymede announced his and Andromeda's readiness to withstand trial.

"So, Yelena…" the Crab murmured, sinking deep into a meditation, searching for Yelena's soul. "I'm guessing she's a powerful one – you're not the one for weaklings, Ganymede."

There was an obvious delight in Karkinos' voice, and Astraea frowned. She had never subscribed to that school of thinking, and she was quite certain the Water Bearer didn't either. He never made a big fuss about it or favored any of those born under his rule based on their potential power – only their accomplishments…

"Wait…" Karkinos abruptly opened his eyes, and Astraea felt chills pass through her.

The look in the Crab's eyes was nothing short of _murderous_ : Rigel and Dioscuri leaned away from him, and even the ever-calm Nephe looked taken aback. Only Themis showed no reaction, but Astraea knew better than to believe that façade; she had been just as surprised as the rest of them.

"What. Gave. You. The fucking _right_. TO MESS WITH MY DOMAIN!"

Karkinos was out of his seat before any of the stronger Zodiacs could move a finger, speeding to Ganymede, spit lying everywhere as he lifted his fist on the other Zodiac.

"Who _the fuck_ -"

"Karkinos!"

Aldebaran was the first one who snapped out of the stupor, catching Karkinos before he managed to land the punch on Ganymede and dragging him away. Ganymede did not move an inch in defense, and neither did Andromeda as she leant on the man's shoulder. Had Karkinos' punch gone through, she would not have been left unscathed.

They felt guilty for what they had done.

There was no other explanation for their inaction. While they didn't want to confess directly, they weren't defending what they had done as something wise or good.

"What have you done?" Themis asked Ganymede with mild tone, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

Karkinos was the one to answer, still shaking with anger.

"He stuck a dead man's soul to a living girl!"

Astraea gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. No wonder Karkinos blew up! No wonder Ganymede, who usually didn't meddle with his 'children', decided to take on girl's injuries!

"We did," Andromeda immediately corrected Karkinos, her chains rattling around her in irritation. "Ganymede is powerful, but he couldn't do it alone. He grafted the souls together, and I sealed the girl's Cosmo so she wouldn't combust from the overload."

"Wise," Eros nodded. "I suppose the soul was not an ordinary one?"

"Gold Saint's," Ganymede muttered. "Chiron's."

Oh. _Oh._ Now everything made so much sense.

"Aiolos?" Amaltheia asked with a surprised face. "You saved Aiolos?"

"He begged the stars to watch over those he loved with his last breath," Andromeda's eyes were shimmering, and her smile was sad enough to drag even Karkinos out of his anger. "And we can't do that all the time – you know how hectic things can get around here – so we decided to give him a second chance."

Astraea could understand it. They cared for the same child. Shun Amamiya was blessed with two guardian angels: one ready to defend with everything she had, the other to soothe his heart with her words of peace and wisdom. They could not watch him at every moment, but once they split their duties, they managed to cover most of the time. Gifting Sagittarius Aiolos more time was probably the only viable route they could come up with while still granting him his wish.

Unfortunately, that practice was forbidden.

"You know the rules," Themis reminded them quietly, dispassionately. "The logic of your actions is sound, but the act is forbidden."

"Yeah, so go and separate them, so we can go our merry way," Karkinos grumbled from his seat, still held in Aldebaran's grip.

"They can't," Antares spoke for the first time, rendering everyone silent. "Aiolos has been dead for nearly six years. The graft that endured that long cannot be separated without intervention from Gods."

"In other words…" Nephe looked ready to vomit, and Astraea shared the sentiment.

"Yes. Once Ganymede stops transferring her injuries to himself, she will die."

* * *

Shun couldn't sleep.

It wasn't an unusual occurrence: Ikki, Yelena and Hyoga spent quite a few nights cuddling and singing to him just to get him to relax and fall asleep.

Tonight, however, nothing helped. Ikki's cuddles and Hyoga's off-key songs his _mama_ had taught him could not send him into the realms of Morpheus and his children. He kept tossing and turning, momentarily falling into drowsiness before waking up again, pleading for the firm, female embrace.

He needed to know if Yelena was alive and well. She was at the Sanctuary, yes, but Shun had no idea how she felt. Was she sad? Happy? Did she miss her many adopted brothers and Saori? Or was she happy for a break?

He needed to know!

And he knew just the way to check that. Hyoga had once told him about the method, and he had overheard it when Yelena and Mr. Tatsumi were talking. Shun was reasonably sure he would get it. How difficult it was to shout with your Cosmo, anyway?

Ignoring the last order his sister had given to him and Hyoga about using Cosmo without supervision, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

 _Yelenaa!_


End file.
